Shattered Centers
by RubyWings91
Summary: What could change if All Might wasn't there to stop Aizawa from investigating the fight between Midoriya and Bakugou? A lot, actually. Secrets are busted, headaches grow and teenagers get help they desperately need as events unfold in a new way. Divergent AU starting with Izuku vs Bakugou fight after Licencing Exam. Rated T for occasional language.
1. The Fight

**Shattered Centers**

 **Summary: What could change if All Might wasn't there to stop Aizawa from investigating the fight between Midoriya and Bakugou? A lot, actually. Secrets are busted, headaches grow and teenagers get help they desperately need as events unfold in a new way.**

 **Disclaimer: Boku no Hero Academia and all of it's characters belong to Kohei Horikoshi**

 **Chapter 1: The Fight**

"… _don't want to get caught around Exit 27. A villain with an earth liquefaction quirk was cornered there after stealing a bike and it's estimated to be another hour before they have it safe to drive again._

 _In other news, crime is still on the rise now that-"_

Tsukachi switched his radio off. "All of this over someone stealing a bike…" he sighed before continuing, "Well, that explains why traffic's at a standstill. You can probably tack on another couple hours before we through the traffic jam…once they fix the road."

Toshinori tried to ignore the last few words that had escaped the speakers before they had been silenced but they just kept echoing through his mind, fueled by the conversation he'd had with All For One.

Toshinori stared, hyper-focused, down the street from where he sat in the car as if he could see the damage around the curve and a mile away simply by looking. He finally looked away from the window as he said, "I guess I need to call UA and let them know I'll be late."

After a few moments of silence, Tsukachi asked, "How are you doing?"

There were so many ways to interpret that question. Toshinori knew his friend wasn't asking about his physical health but, even with that one possible meaning eliminated, it could still reference half a dozen other things, each with it's own answer. He chose the current situation, as it seemed like one of the easiest to answer. "Its so odd," he reflected. Glancing out the side window at the buildings nearest the highway, he continued. "A couple months ago I'd have jumped out of the car, found a place to transform and leapt to the scene of the attack in order to make sure everything was alright. Then I would have run back to the school, making sure I arrived before my time limit ran out. Now I'm just…it feels so wrong, to just be sitting here."

"And I wouldn't have blinked at you doing that," Tsukachi replied. He glanced at his old friend, "It can't be easy, being retired. Especially with how much your students look up to you."

Toshinori nodded, sighing. He had hoped to congratulate the majority of the first-year students on their success in getting provisional licenses when they got back to the school, too. By now, they were all back in their dorms.

Toshinori sighed as he stared at his reflection in the glass and found himself recalling other glass walls that he'd been sitting in front of earlier that day. Thinking of the words he'd exchanged with monsters on the other side. "I'll be glad when the day is over," He stated, looking back at his friend as he adjusted himself so that he was more comfortable in his loose hanging hero costume, "It's been too…long."

Tomorrow, Toshinori would congratulate Young Midoriya personally for his achievement. He opened the picture of the license his protégé had messaged him for the umpteenth time and smiled. He felt a warm swell of pride in his chest, just as strong as when he first received it earlier that afternoon. It may have been a long day, but this image reminded him that certainly not all of it was bad.

Yet, unknown to the retired hero, the day wouldn't end as soon as he had hoped. For in a couple hours, as their exit would finally come into view in the distance, Izuku Midoriya and Katsuki Bakugou would be slipping out of Class 1-A's dorm and heading for the school's gate. By the time their conflict ended, an unstoppable cascade of events would be set into motion.

"Yo, Eraserhead!" Tired, glazed eyes flicked up at the mechanical voice that echoed out of the school speaker system. Aizawa closed his laptop, listening to the announcement. "Two of your students are at Ground Beta! Negligent Supervision! Come take responsibility and discipline them."

"Are you serious…?" Shota asked, annoyed but not surprised, especially since the Provisional Licensing Exam was today. Big events like that were almost always bound to lead to restlessness. He'd expected to be on watch all night but almost immediately after curfew? Really?

"Seriously serious."

"Which students?"

"Students identified as Katsuki Bakugou and Izuku Midoriya."

Shota had hoped it would be something as simple as a pair of his students being thoughtless in the celebration of their success at officially becoming heroes. With those two together, though, he knew it couldn't be anything so pleasant.

Shota sighed, stood and stormed outside. "What in the world could they be thinking?" Whatever it was, he had a bad feeling. As he stated to Ms. Joke those two were the heart of class 1-A but too often he wished that they would just make his job easier and get along.

Trusting his instincts, the man rushed toward the testing ground. He heard a distant explosion and shattering of glass before smoke, black against the light from the city skyline, billowed skyward from Ground Beta. _Should've known,_ he mentally grumbled. It wasn't until that moment that he noticed the cool breeze against his throat. He'd forgotten his capture weapon. But hearing the distant rumbling, it was clear that there was no time to retrieve it.

Shota heard echoing voices as he drew closer. Even from this far away where he was unable to make out words, he could pick up on emotions in Bakugou's voice. Ones that the explosive blond had never before shown in the whole time he'd been at UA.

Then Shota could hear the electrical _crackle_ of Midoriya's quirk join the explosions as he drew closer.

He was nearly there when he heard Bakugou shout again. "I thought you weren't going to be my punching bag anymore!"

"I'm not!" Midoriya roared back.

Despite being winded, Shota picked up the pace. He had to stop this fight, _now_.

"I bet you've got some kind of plan up your sleeve!"

Shota rounded the corner just in time to receive a blinding flash. He bit back his curse as he closed his eyes, hissing. He was unable to use his quirk and his students were still several blocks away. Somehow, his presence went unnoticed.

Bakugou continued, "That's one of the things I hate most about you!" _Bang!_ "I can never tell what you're thinking. No matter how much I beat you up, you keep coming back! It's obvious you always looked down on me. Even when we were kids! You think you're better than me but if you seriously think you're going to surpass me as a hero even with your new power, you better think again Deku!"

Shota tried to open his eyes but they were still too watery. _Damn it_. Before the USJ, he would have recovered from that flash by now. He was beginning to worry he might never completely heal from the beating he'd taken from that damn Nomu.

Despite how quiet Midoriya's response was, his words carried as well as Bakugou's roar. "Wait. Is that what you actually believed? All this time?"

 _Oh fuck, was this seriously them working through their issues? In a full out fight, quirks and all? Pummeling each other - or more accurately, Bakugou Pummeling Midoriya and Midoriya indulging him._ Shota had wanted them to solve whatever was between them but this not what he had in mind… and what did Bakugou mean by, 'new power'?

"Think about it Kacchan," the calmer boy stated, and Shota had to admit, it was impressive how he kept his cool even now, "If I looked down on you, I wouldn't want anything to do with you anymore. I'm still here. I noticed things you couldn't all these years because I had nothing at first. There were things I hated about you, sure. But I could clearly see how amazing you were."

They had momentarily stopped using their quirks. Shota would like to hope that they were done but… he knew better. He took advantage of the moment to blink, having almost completely recovered. He had a suspicion of what would happen when he called out to them but for now, he'd give them a chance. Maybe they could work this out with no more fists. It would be nice, even if the implications of the topic of their conversation were worrying, to say the least. He let his quirk rest for the moment as he watched and quietly stalked closer.

"You had so much going for you that I didn't have. All Might was my hero but you were the one actually in my life!" Midoriya built up his power and charged forward with the declaration, until he moved faster than his teacher had seen him do without breaking himself. And Shota knew that if he acted now, Midoriya would shatter his leg as he swung it forward. So, frustrated at missing his opportunity, he waited for the right moment…

The boys charged at each other, Bakugou a yellow blur of movement and Midoriya a green. Despite dodging the blow, some of Midoriya's power was still coursing through Bakugou, sparking out through his legs, seeming to affect his movements as it did so.

That was new…

And that was not the behavior of a simple strength enhancement quirk.

Midoriya swung around again and Bakugou was sent flying. Midoriya grabbed a pole, swung around and shot after Bakugou, "Is that all you've got?!"

 _Damn it_ , this was too much. Despite the danger of erasing Midoriya's quirk while he was fighting like this, Shota was worried that allowing the hit might do more damage. So, despite the risk, Aizawa activated his quirk.

Midoriya was in midair and Bakugou launched himself upward, only to jump the couple feet his own legs gave him before coming back to earth, barely able to right himself before a confused Midoriya landed on him, the two colliding in an ungraceful crash.

 **When I am considering the story from a specific person's point of view, I will use their personal name to reference them. The other characters will be referred to by their family names unless they prefer the use of their personal names or some other series related circumstance dictates it.**

 **Some of the first chapters are going to be slow but I feel that they're important. And the earlier action will be mostly training related. I plan to keep it interesting with more emotional scenes. I promise the action will pick up some later, because no force in the universe can keep Izuku Midoriya from landing right in the thick of it.**

 **Also, when I say All Might is reminded of panes of glass he was looking through at monsters earlier, it's not a mistake. When I was going over the scene where he was heading back in the car with Tsukachi, although he doesn't get to discuss it in detail, he mentions that he had a conversation with Stain. At the time of writing this, that conversation has not been referenced again in any notable way that I can recall (The series is at 210 chapters at this point). So if you're finding this story after it's been brought up again, I didn't have the material to work with when starting this story. Otherwise, I have no doubt I would have weaved references to it in here.**

 **Hopefully, you'll enjoy what I write. I think this is an interesting idea.**

 **After a point from a review on , I made a slight adjustment to All Might's section.**

 **Beta Note:**

 **I came up with the idea the reason All Might is absent due to a villain attack effecting traffic for multiple reasons. One, as I tried to express here, was to bring up the contrast of his life as a civilian vs what it was as a hero. I want to try o get some of the emotions he might be feeling about that change into this. Another is world building, showing how this society might view these attacks, so common that traffic related news considers them a routine part of their reports.**

 **I am also considering a subtle quirk in for Midoriya, although it's one that could fit the series as is and even explain away some plot conveniences. Still, I've already got as a head cannon anyway. The general idea is that he has a quirk that acts as a magnetism and/or agitator to other quirks. It would explain how he finds so many heroes and villains in general, draws in trouble and incidents like how in all of Hosu, Izuku managed to find his way straight to Iida and Stain. At first, it wouldn't play a major role but I would probably have its role grow over time. Is this a good idea?**


	2. Quirkless Conclusion

**Chapter 2: Quirkless Conclusions**

Izuku felt the power pulsing through his body. The force that imbued him with incredible strength surged through him with far greater intensity than he'd ever dared use in a regular fight. The sensation of it flowing through him was exhilarating. Usually, the knowledge of One for All's destructive power, both for him and anyone nearby, was enough to remind him to keep a tight grasp over the quirk. But now, at this moment, he'd loosened his grip ever so slightly and wielded eight percent of his power, rather than five.

The last time they fought, although Izuku and Uraraka had won against Kacchan and Iida, his team's success hadn't been because he could defeat Kacchan in their personal face off. It was because Izuku had known that the other boy would be solely focused on destroying him and had accounted for that fact when making his plans with Uraraka. If anyone were to look at just their fight, without considering their objectives, Kacchan would have been the clear victor. He had basically been unscathed while Izuku had been unconscious, suffering from several burns, bruises and cuts from explosion, and had broken every bone in his arm using One for All.

Still, in all honesty, even though Izuku had been willing to fight back for the first time, he hadn't really expected to be able to win. For him, the victory had been in how he found the strength to stand up for himself, rather than just accept the explosive attack that he knew was coming.

This time would be different. Izuku had gotten so much better. He had more control over One for All and more time to learn how to use it. Furthermore, Kacchan wasn't here just to beat him down - he saw Izuku as a legitimate challenge.

As Izuku leapt into the air and balled his hand into a fist, the other reasons for this fight fell away, taking his doubts with them and leaving behind only one thing.

The burning resolve to win.

Then, in the space of a heartbeat, the power pulsing through Izuku's body vanished. However, the effects of what he'd already done didn't fade; the speed with which he hurtled toward Kacchan still remained.

Kacchan jumped to meet Izuku, but when he pointed his hands earthward to launch himself forward, he fell, wide eyed, back to the ground and stumbled.

Realizing that there would be no time for Kacchan to recover and dodge him, Izuku braced for impact before they collided, collapsing together rolling across the asphalt. When they came to a stop, the two were lying on the ground, facing each other, noses almost touching.

As Izuku regained his bearings, he saw Bakugou recover enough to shake off his own daze and glare at Izuku, teeth clenched. The green haired boy scrabbled up onto his hands and knees, despite the pain from their collision. His arms and legs ached from where they'd rubbed against the pavement during the tumble.

Kacchan swung an open palm toward Izuku's chest.

Izuku reached for One for All as he got his feet under him. He'd use the power in the bend of his knees and, to a lesser extent, his elbows to spring above the incoming blast. Hopefully, he could correct whatever awkward position he'd end up in before the other boy could readjust his aim.

But, once again, Izuku's power never came. He just sprang to his feet. Nor was there a blazing eruption from Kacchan's hands.

Then Izuku finally understood. He should have known from the start, but he had been so fixated on Kacchan. Aizawa Sensei must have found out about their fight and come to break it up. Izuku scolded himself for being so careless. If it had been a villain attack, they could've easily been killed in the time it had taken him to figure out what was happening.

"No! We're not done, dammit!" Despite also knowing what was happening, Kacchan wasn't ready for the fight to end. The look on his face reminded Izuku of the end of the UA Tournament, when the smoke had cleared to reveal an unconscious Todoroki. Except this time, both he and Kacchan were still standing. They could still finish this. Kacchan was desperate for a proper conclusion to their fight and Izuku was going to make sure that he got it.

Izuku knew that Kacchan would probably rage until he ran out of steam. The explosive blond leapt to his feet and threw a right hook at Izuku's face, but he'd never fought without his quirk. He was used to having a blast to expand the radius of his strike, do more damage with each blow and release a shock wave that was accompanied by heavy recoil for the user. Izuku was made painfully aware of the last fact when he felt the kickback of the gauntlet Kacchan had lent when they faced All Might.

Kacchan used swings that were excellent when there was force rebounding from the blasts. Once he'd known to look for it, Izuku had written extensively on how it influenced his movements in a fight compared to their classmates.

Now, in a single punch, it became obvious just how much Kacchan depended on his quirk to fight. It was not just the weakened blow, lacking explosive force and heat. He threw his whole body into his punch and instead of having a blast to bounce him back and correct his balance, he moved past a dodging Izuku, almost falling over as he stumbled.

As Izuku dodged to the side, he just barely felt a fist graze his cheek. He recalled watching Uraraka practice what she learned from Gunhead and realized that this was an opportunity to try using it in order to end their fight. Kacchan couldn't have lined up more perfectly for it if he'd tried.

Izuku attempted to imitate the move Uraraka used to grab charging opponents and pin them to the ground, but he must have messed up. Rather than successfully stopping Kacchan, the blond quickly rolled his arm out of Izuku's grip and slipped just out of reach. The green haired boy felt a wave of disappointment in himself for his mistake as his opponent regained his balance and glared at him. Izuku made a mental note to watch Uraraka more closely the next time she was using it, so he could figure out what he did wrong.

Kacchan had paused, his frustration obvious.

"That's enough!" Izuku glanced over his shoulder to see Aizawa. Despite red glow of his eyes, there was no capture weapon around the pro hero's neck and he was still too far away to physically stop the fight.

Izuku gave his teacher an apologetic glance and replied, "Sorry." Then he returned his attention to the fight.

Izuku couldn't afford to think about Aizawa and how he'd just disobeyed him. He might lose his nerve to fight Kacchan. He drew himself tall and motioned that he was ready to continue with a single nod. It was an invitation that Kacchan took willingly as he charged forward, teeth gritted in determination, as intent on winning as Izuku.

As Kacchan rushed toward him, Izuku widened his stance. He was far more confident that he understood how Uraraka held herself than in the move which he'd tried to copy a moment ago. She said the stance was meant to give the user better footing, which was excellent for hand to hand combat.

Izuku dodged the first blow and blocked the second with his arm, just as he had done near the end of the exercise on the second day of school. Even at the age of four, Kacchan had much more powerful blows, backed by his quirk. This was nothing in comparison.

Izuku was impressed to see Kacchan was already trying to correct his own stance for fighting without his explosions but he wasn't adjusting fast enough for this match. His wobbly, poorly balanced movements robbed his blows of their strength and he struggled to recover from overextended punches. His own inexperience was ruining his chances more than anything else.

Kacchan tried to kick Izuku only for the green haired boy to grab the leg, drawing it up to unbalance his opponent and send him falling to the ground.

That snapped Kacchan out of his rage. His hands were braced against the ground behind him, body completely exposed for a hit. There was also no way for him to reclaim the advantage without any of his usual blasts, flashes or propulsion techniques, either.

If Izuku wanted, he could easily strike to drive the point home. However, that seemed like it would just be twisting the knife. They both knew that the fight was over. Hoping the other boy wouldn't take it the wrong way, Izuku took a few steps back.

When Kacchan lifted his head, there was only confusion, none of the anger Izuku had feared he would retaliate with. The boy was panting heavily, exhausted from their fight.

Izuku was breathing just as hard as he studied the other boy. Kacchan hadn't looked so lost since the time he fell into the creek. Even that time, he'd quickly covered it up, even before Izuku had gotten close enough try to help.

Back then, Izuku had offered a hand, a gesture he'd repeated earlier tonight. He'd meant it only as an offer of assistance, but now he understood that Kacchan saw it as an insult, suggesting he was weak. He'd trusted Kacchan to be understanding when he chose not to land a finishing blow while the blond boy was down. But extending his hand now, after his old friend had made it clear what that meant to him, would utterly change their relationship.

 _So, what do I do? I can't just stand over Kacchan and do nothing._

After a moment, Izuku had an idea that could disarm Kacchan. Rather than offer a hand, he instead sat down in front of the blond, pulling his knees up and wrapping his arms around them. When they were little, before Kacchan had gotten quirk, they'd sit across from each other like this to talk sometimes.

Kacchan watched him, eyes glistening with unshed tears.

Izuku could feel the asphalt still radiating the days heat beneath them. He took a moment to calm his nerves, scared of messing this up somehow. Then, as he had done so many times after 'fighting villains' in the park, racing each other down the street or showing off packs of hero cards, he asked, "Are we done now, Kacchan?"

But this time as he said Kacchan's name, his voice cracked as over a decade of pain was recognized in a moment. His vision was hazy with tears, because he wasn't asking about something as simple as what their next game would be. He wanted to know - were they done with this…whatever it was…that had been between them for so long? Could they move on to something else now? Dare he hope?

Kacchan curled in on himself, Izuku barely catching the sparkle of tears reflecting the light from a street lamp before he turned his face down so that all his companion could only see the blond spikes that crowned his head. "Yeah, I think so." The words were steady. The next, however, weren't. "But don't ask me what the fuck comes next."

Whatever it was that they would have, it couldn't be what it was before. Izuku knew that. For him, forgiving and forgetting were two different things.

Did he even forgive Kacchan?

Understanding? There was more of that now, for sure. Kacchan had thought Izuku, someone he saw as weaker than him, had been looking down on him for years. But Kacchan had done so much to him. He'd left wounds - both physical and psychological.

Izuku would never stop thinking Kacchan was amazing. He would always run to help the blond if the powerful boy needed it. Even if he could not reach out to Kacchan himself, he would get someone whose presence he would accept. That would never change.

But Izuku was also very angry. He had been for years, even if he worked to suppress the feeling. When Kacchan and his friends had attacked Izuku, whether with quirks or words, he'd felt pain and fear. As Kacchan encouraged their classmates to further pick on and bully Izuku, the quirkless boy became wary and withdrawn. He'd learned to be quiet and always on guard for tricks and traps. To masterfully handle physical pain as it became a part of his day-to-day life.

Still, the worst damage rarely came with the actions and words, but the thoughts that crept in during those moments between. On the walk to and from home, when he ate lunch alone, zoning out in class, staring at the ceiling over his bed at night when he was sure his mom wouldn't know. Even the extra effort he put into his notebooks, adding to his initial quirk analyses, could only keep his mind from wandering for so long.

Quiet and boredom unlocked the doors behind which he hid negative experiences so that he could carry on. Once those locks fell away, the memories came back, accompanied by painful emotions that seemed to have sprouted from them like mushrooms from rotting wood. Emotions like hurt, doubt, betrayal, humiliation, anger…and deepest of all, loneliness. He was so full of them that it felt like they overflowed with his tears. So heavy that it seemed a wonder that they didn't crushed his tiny body, supported only by the steel of his determination. It might have bent slightly under their weight of the others, but somehow it held against them.

Kacchan wasn't responsible for all of Izuku's childhood misery, nor for all of the emotional scarring he carried but he was the greatest source by far. Izuku wasn't sure if he could forgive him for that. Even if he did, he'd never forget. How does someone forget the forces working to crush his dreams? How do they unlearn to flinch and duck at every unexpected touch and sound after it's been ingrained over years?

So, no…Kacchan was right to point out that there was no going back. Even if Izuku wishes it could.

 _But maybe we can make…something to outweigh the painful darkness wedged between us for twelve years. Maybe we can help each other heal and carry on from that old nightmare._ It was with this hope in mind that Izuku replied, "Let's try to make it something better."

Kacchan snorted and said, "Course you'd say something like that." The venomous bite his words usually carried was replaced by a tired quality. Izuku knew that the tone was the closest Kacchan would come of openly agreeing with him.

Despite the mix of complex emotions swirling within, Izuku smiled. He was happy to know that Kacchan wanted things to get better, too. That he wouldn't push him away, anymore.

It was at that moment that they heard a throat clear and Izuku remembered how they had ended up like this in the first place.

Kacchan sighed and curled in a little tighter while Izuku looked up toward the source of the noise.

Aizawa Sensei stood above them. His hair was bound in a bun, though several strands had slipped out, probably in his haste to stop them. His capture cloth, as Izuku had noticed earlier, was absent. As was all his other equipment. He looked tired and angry, yet his eyes weren't glowing and the loose strands weren't defying gravity, so he was no longer using his quirk.

And then Izuku remembered everything they had said in their fight. Just how much had Aizawa Sensei heard?

 **Originally, this chapter included Aizawa's confrontation but it was getting pretty long and there is a clear division between this continued fight and the conversation that's about to take place.**

 **I had Izuku thinking of and applying Uraraka's stance because he shown evidence of doing this type of thing before, when considering Ida's stance to apply to his Shoot Style.**

 **Also, I know that all evidence shows that Bakugou treated Midoriya poorly even before he got his quirk but I think Izuku remembers their childhood friendship through rose tinted glasses. I think it's a wonder how much Izuku implies remembering, considering that they were only four when Bakugou got his quirk.**


	3. Repercussions

**Chapter 3: Repercussions**

Katsuki looked up from where he had collapsed.

Deku stood over him, eyes wide with concern. That look had always made Katsuki's insides twist. To him, the worry always seemed like something to close to pity and he'd wanted none of that shit. Pity was for weaklings.

But Deku had said that he didn't look down on Katsuki and it was obvious he _meant_ it. But how could there be worry if he wasn't seeing weakness?

Everything had changed so much since the day Katsuki had tossed Deku's burnt book out the window. It was that day when he reached the epitome of his childhood assholery during the accompanying 'conversation' with the tiny, quirkless boy.

Deku had grown stronger since then. Not just physically, either. And the development - no, acquisition of a quirk… of _All Might's quirk_ \- certainly helped. He finally grew a pair, too. Gained the ability to interact with classmates, go toe-to-toe with Katsuki, and take on every challenge thrown his way with his head held high.

It pissed Katsuki off because he felt like he'd done nothing but get weaker. He'd fucked up time after time, whether in school or facing villains. By the second day at UA, he'd been outsmarted by Deku the 'pebble' and seen that Half n' Half was obviously more powerful than him. Then, during the UA tournament, his chance to redeem himself, they had fucked him over again. The fire and ice wielder had chosen their fight - _Katsuki's Fight_ \- as the fucking moment to let his personal shit to finally catch up to him and throw the damn match. But not before he had given Deku his all. Katsuki's childhood tagalong would have given him a better fight for sure. If Half n' Half hadn't talked to Deku before the third round of the tournament, it would have been Deku standing across from him in that ring. That medal would have been worth something, rather than just fill him with shame every time he saw it.

This was followed by the two back to back travesties of his shadowing of Best Jeanist and being paired with Deku for finals. And he'd only made it through the latter because Deku had beat sense back into him when he talked about throwing the fucking match.

And _then_ there were the villains. Everyone kept bringing up the Sludge Bastard and would no doubt _continue_ to do so with his capture by the League of Assholes. Even the Misty Fucker's teleportation trick after he and Shitty Hair had attacked him at the USJ seemed like more of the same crap to Katsuki.

Katsuki clenched his teeth, anger and frustration building along with the tears pricking the corners of his eyes. He always had to depend on someone else to pull his ass out of the fire. Classmates, teachers, random heroes…What kind of hero wasn't even capable of protecting himself?

He recalled the look on Deku's face in the forest, right before Katsuki was pulled through the Mist Fucker's portal _again_. And the green haired idiot had the nerve to look like it was _his_ fault Katsuki got captured by the villains.

As if Deku hadn't done everything in his power to prevent Katsuki's capture. He got the Telepathic Cat Lady to send out a warning to everyone that Katsuki was a target. Then he had ignored his busted arms to charge into danger in order to find him. In the process, he summoned some of the most badass backup ever and had disposed of a cannibalistic death row inmate in seconds. Then, when he should have been out of his mind from pain, the nerd hardly missed a beat as he organized an escort strong enough that it could have given All Might himself a run for his fucking money. If Deku had known about the Masked Motherfucker, Katsuki doubted the bastard would have made it within a hundred yards of them. He bet the idiot organized the last-ditch effort to save him, too.

But that was Deku, wasn't it? Always butting in and trying to deal with everyone else's shit. He wouldn't fuckin' stop meddling, no matter how hard he was pushed away or beaten into the ground.

And Kamino Ward was further proof of that. Even as Katsuki had grabbed Kirishima's hand in his final escape in Kamino, Deku was right there behind them. He was undoubtedly the orchestrator of that batshit plan, cause no one else there would have thought that shit up in their wildest dreams... they should have put _him_ against Nezu for the exam. He'd give Mr. Animal Genius a run for his fucking money!

So why was Deku, with all of his brains, his newfound confidence and an incredible quirk to back it all up, still following Katsuki around like a puppy? Why did classmates like Kirishima act like he was, as Deku phrased it, 'amazing?'

How couldn't they see how pathetically feeble he was?

Deku jarred Katsuki from his spiraling thoughts by plopping down in front of him like they were still four fucking years old and had just finished running through the park. Katsuki hadn't realized it until Deku was at eye level with him, but he'd been waiting to see what the curly haired teen would do next. He… he was afraid to blink for fear that it would let loose the torrent of tears he was desperately trying to hold back. Why the hell did him sitting down like that feel so fucking important? Deku pulled his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them, his scarred right hand wrapped around his left wrist. Even in the dark, he could see how mangled it was from the damage his new quirk had wrought.

Why had it done that to Deku? Katsuki was pretty sure that none of All Might's permanent injuries came from that quirk. Yet, in a matter of months, Deku's arms were almost completely fucked up. Somehow, the blond suspected it wouldn't have done that to him…his arms were built for taking large amounts of force.

But, honestly, Katsuki knew All Might's choice had nothing to do with Deku's physical abilities. It was whatever was inside Deku that made him stand up to Katsuki and his personal set of side characters when they were messing with some of the weaker extras. The thing that caused him offer his hand when Katsuki had fallen into the river. The force that pushed him to barrel toward the Sludge Villain without thinking when all of those heroes just stood there and watched.

What was that something, though? Katsuki had always been taught that the most important thing about becoming a hero was strength. Power. Whatever Deku was acting on, however, was something different. It made it so that Deku was always there when other people were at their weakest, as surely as if he'd had some sort of teleportation quirk. And he always did whatever it took to set everything right for them.

"Are we done now, Kacchan?" Deku asked and Kacchan knew he wasn't just talking about this fight.

And, weak as he felt at that moment, Katsuki could no longer look the other boy in the eye. Instead, he looked down at his lap, curled his hands up in them and pretended to study them, as if he could see anything through his own unshed tears now.

Katsuki still didn't understand why Deku would want anything to do with him. He'd done so much to the green haired boy - to push him away and yet, he was always there, right behind him.

Now, yet again, Deku was asking Katsuki to stop pushing him away. He didn't get it. Deku had confessed to finding him impressive, that he was the person who was always there. But he was wrong, he hadn't been there, really. Not by choice.

But Deku had been there for Katsuki when he needed help, even if he made it clear that he didn't want any. At least Katsuki thought he didn't want it at the time. Yet, it made him wonder why he spent so much time reflecting on those moments? Why did he always recall that while everyone else just stood in the distance, whether it was kids on a log or heroes and civilians waiting for someone _more qualified_ , Deku was right there, ready to help him.

Katsuki knew that Deku shouldn't want to be right there for him. He really didn't deserve to have someone like the ever smiling Izuku Midoriya. But, at that moment, he couldn't stand the thought of ever turning around when he was in trouble and not seeing Deku there.

Especially after having to deal with exactly that while the Villains had held him at the bar…

He'd never say it aloud, but as happy as he'd been when he took Kirishima's hand, he hadn't been able to believe he was actually safe until he glanced back to find a familiar pair of green eyes staring into his.

"Yeah, I think so."

Katsuki didn't have to look up to know that Deku was smiling, looking at him like they were four again. It was best he killed any wrong ideas and stupidly overextended hopes of 'going back' now. "But don't ask me what the fuck comes next."

For a moment, Deku was quiet. Thinking, as he always did with everything. Then, he finally said, "Let's try to make it something better."

"Course you'd say something like that." Katsuki stated. Despite feeling like crap, he momentarily had to fight the urge to chuckle at the ridiculously hopeful outlook his old friend still had. He didn't understand how Deku did it. He doubted that he ever would.

Then he heard their teacher clear his throat.

* * *

Shota looked down at the two boys sitting on the pavement at his feet. They both looked small and vulnerable at that moment. Bakugou was curled up with his hands tucked in his lap. Midoriya looked up fearfully at Shota through tear filled eyes, the confidence he'd displayed when refusing to stop fighting having evaporated.

There were so many problems here, most of which would be difficult to deal with. They would certainly take more than one conversation to fix. And he was worried that once he finally started thinking about them, the issues would only multiply. But at least the first question to ask was obvious. "Do either of you have injuries serious enough that you need to visit Recovery Girl right now?"

"No," Bakugou said, the single word clipped and sharp.

"I don't either," Midoriya added.

"Good." Shota stated, relieved. Their battle - before he'd stepped in and used his quirk on them - had been intense, to say the least. Cracked pavement, bent guard rails and smoking buildings with crumbling sections of walls stood a testament to the ferocity the fight. It would have been easy for one of them to be seriously injured and not realize it while they were still on an adrenaline rush. But, after a couple minutes, they would probably be calmed enough to notice most of their aches and pains. So, he could trust their judgement.

At least in respect to their physical condition.

Their states of mind might be a completely different story.

"Now, you are going to explain why you felt this was necessary." Because they clearly had. They'd quite literally beaten each other into the ground and refused to stop even after he'd stepped in. Midoriya going so far as to look him dead in the eye when he told them to stop and stated that they wouldn't. That they couldn't. That was not like him.

At his demand to know what was going on, Bakugou's shoulders seemed to sink deeper, making the boy look even smaller.

Midoriya was the one who answered. "Kacchan was upset because All Might used up his power saving him."

Bakugou flinched as if struck by Midoriya's words, Shota felt a headache coming on. He remembered what the explosive boy's mother had stated about him being so weak that he let himself be captured. So, this was how deep those words cut. That he'd been blaming himself for All Might's fall and then had failed the exam today. He'd felt the need to pick a fight with a classmate to redeem himself as a strong fighter in his own mind.

"Bakugou. Look at me."

After a moment, the boy looked up, red eyes bloodshot as tears ran from them.

"What happened in Kamino Ward is not your fault. You saw the shape All Might was in. He'd been in decline for a long time and probably should have retired years ago, after the fight that left him in that condition. Still, I understand the temptation to blame yourself. However, he, Best Jeanist and all of the other heroes knew that this operation would be dangerous."

"But if I hadn't been captured…"

"Bakugou, you did the best you could at the time, given the circumstances. You are a talented student. But you _are_ still a student, targeted by an entire organization of villains, some of whom were experienced killers. That you held off so long-"

"But I didn't run away…in the woods, that Cat Lady sent Deku's message that I was a target and I ran toward the fight way. It was my fault!" Bakugou stated, trembling as tears continued to flow.

And there was the heart of it, the guilt that was eating him alive. He'd made a bad choice that had serious consequences.

Shota didn't consider himself to be very good at consoling people. He was rather lacking in social skills in general, to be honest. Usually, it wasn't much of a problem. Students considered him harsh to the point of bordering unapproachable, which he was comfortable with. He was the teacher who'd expel them if they slipped up even for a moment. Very few saw that he acted with their well-being in mind. And he was perfectly happy to keep a distance with them. Certainly, none of the students would have depended to him for comfort.

This year, though, was different. It was already littered with dangerous situations where the students not only had to depend on Shota to save them, but he had to rely on them as well. Despite the terrible circumstances that had caused it, he couldn't help but feel closer to these kids than a mere student-teacher relationship. He couldn't help but try to comfort the boy falling apart in front of him. Carefully, gently, Shota placed a hand on his shoulder, trying to think of something to say.

Shota was startled when Bakugou lean against his shoulder and sobbing into it as he balled up his hands in Shota's shirt.

For a minute, Shota wrapped his arms around Bakugou and let the boy sob against his chest. Young Midoriya watched on, eyes focused on the other boy with solemn eyes full of agonizing sadness, crippling loneliness and deep longing, focused on the other boy. Shota had a feeling that he'd have tried to hug the blond if he thought it would help. Still, Midoriya held back because, despite the moment he'd just shared with Bakugou, the green haired boy knew it would be going too far.

How did Shota mistake this for something as simple as a rivalry?

Shota returned his focus to Bakugou, though he was determined to give Midoriya the attention he was due as soon as he'd dealt with the boy in his arms. "You're not the only first year I've taught who would have run straight into a fight when given the opportunity. They were like you - overconfident in their abilities, despite having minimal training. By the time they had to face their first villain, that behavior would have been tempered some and they'd have gone through training that you haven't been exposed to yet. Yes, you should have done as you were told instead of engaging, but I should have taken initiative to correct the underlying behavior that caused you to act out. As a result, when the moment came, you were unprepared."

Shota felt Bakugou stiffen. He had a feeling that if anyone else had told him that he wasn't ready to face villains, he would have blown his top.

As it was, Shota decided not to give him the chance to stew over what he'd said, "Even if they didn't catch you, judging from the fact that they also tried to take Tokoyami, they would have been perfectly willing to snatch someone else." And if Shota was a betting man, he'd put his money on it being Midoriya, since his condition after rescuing Kota would have made him an easy target.

Shota continued. "I'm not going to tell you to stop blaming yourself. It would be illogical to think that would work." _On either of you_. Shota knew Midoriya blamed himself for the other boy's capture. He'd first known the villains had succeeded when the boy's agonized wails had echoed through the woods, a sound that would probably haunt him to the end of his days. "It would also be hypocritical, coming from me. How do you think I feel when I remember the fact that the villains took you while you were supposed to be under my protection? Or wondering if my quirk would have made the difference against that monster All Might fought?" He sighed and added, "I certainly meant what I said about my responsibility for not correcting your behavior that put you in danger in the first place. It's something that I'm more determined to work on than ever after tonight."

The boys both looked shocked at Shota's admission. Midoriya opened his mouth to say something but was stopped with a look.

"My point is, it's understandable to look back after the fact and wonder 'what if,' even if it's not logical. Still, sometimes those thoughts can help make you stronger. So, remember what you did wrong and use that to do better _next_ time."

"Count yourselves fortunate that everyone you know made it through alive this time." If only he could say the same for the countless people caught up in the destruction of Kamino Ward. "You have no idea how lucky you are for that."

But how much longer would that luck hold? Experiencing loss was a part of being a hero. A major reason he kept himself separate from his students was that he knew many would be crippled or dead before they reached his age. It's why he didn't mess around with kids he knew couldn't cut it. However, when the kids were supposed to be safest, this year's freshmen had already been faced multiple attacks by villains unlike anything that fully trained heroes had faced in years. Probably since All Might stepped up as the Symbol of Peace.

And now, these students were being forced into one situation after another that they weren't ready for. This was the very thing Shota had prided himself in protecting his students from. It infuriated and terrified him that his ability to keep his single greatest promise to his students had been torn away.

Shota shoved the thoughts away. He had enough to consider without dwelling on something he couldn't control at the moment. He would be able to devote plenty of time to it during the hours sleep eluded him and in the nightmares that swallowed what little rest he got. Right now, he had to address the situation in front of him.

Bakugou's fists tightening and his shuddering breath drew Shota's focus back into that moment. He rubbed his hand along the teen's back to comfort him as the man felt a wet spot growing in his shirt.

And Midoriya watched on, already trying to bury his own pain and remain inconspicuous. To be forgotten so Shota would focus on his classmate's suffering.

Shota caught Midoriya's eye, letting him know he wasn't going to ignore him, even if the green haired teen would probably insist otherwise.

The two hearts of class A were tearing both themselves, and each other, apart and burning to cinders even as they began their ascent to greatness. If something had been different, if this fight hadn't happened, it's very likely that Bakugou, one of the most promising students to walk into UA, would have burned out. Eaten alive by his guilt, had he been without any help. How many other students were this close to breaking?

And to save Bakugou, Midoriya had been willing to take whatever the explosive boy threw at him in the empty streets of a faux city in the dead of night. And all the while, he seemed to consider it a major point to not be the other boy's 'punching bag.'

Shota was going to have a serious conversation with Nezu. The principal had promised the media that the student's psychological needs would be addressed. Well, here were exhibits A and B for the absolutely _stellar_ job the school was doing with that. Bakugou had been kidnapped and Izuku had his life threatened at a mall, but they had clearly needed counseling long before those incidents. Sure, they weren't responsible for the students' needs before they set foot on campus but once they were in UA?

All of Class 1-A… actually, at this point all of the first-year students - had been through life-threatening situations involving Villains. As heroes, the staff have enough personal experience with that kind of thing that they should know that these kids weren't okay. Yet, here he was, with two beat up students because the staff, himself included, had failed them in not just keeping them physically safe but in regards to their mental health too.

For a few minutes, Shota and Midoriya waited silently as they allowed Bakugou to calm down and collect himself. Eventually, the tears dried and his embrace ended. He stood stared at the ground, glaring at it as if it had personally offended him. And he looked like his normal self as Shota too rose to his feet.

Once it seemed that Bakugou had recovered as much as possible, Shota finally spoke again. "Unfortunately, no matter how necessary and unavoidable this fight was, you still broke the rules." Midoriya flinched, more hurt by those words than from his injuries. "You will both be under house arrest for three days. During that time, you will clean all of the dormitory common spaces, morning and night." He considered written statements of regret but in all honesty, UA probably owed them the apologies for letting this go on for so long. Besides, he wasn't about to let them have one closing statement and then bury this. "You will only be allowed to leave only to attend therapy sessions with Hound Dog that I will set up for you."

Izuku looked down at his feet, although Shota didn't miss his puzzled expression, even as Bakugou opened his mouth to object. _So, he was aware of both who Hound Dog was and his wider reputation as a hero._

"No, this isn't part of your punishment. It's something you both should have received well before now." Shota glared at them. "Any hero agency worth its salt would require members of their teams who went through your types of experiences to see a therapist if they wanted to keep their jobs. Your families will be informed and if they want you to see someone outside the school instead, UA will cover the charges. What happened tonight is proof that you need it. If your only outlet for your emotions is picking a fight with a classmate, something needs to be done."

Bakugou must have truly been spent because the look that Shota received now was just tired.

Shota frowned and added, "When your House Arrest is over, we will have a conversation about exactly what you two were arguing over." He looked pointedly at Bakugou as he stated this.

Bakugou bit his lip as his gaze sank back to the ground, this time with the occasional side glances at Midoriya.

Shota was relieved. The feelings Bakugou expressed over decision to run toward danger rather than away meant he knew that he had done wrong and he felt guilt over it. That he wanted to do better. If Bakugou was incapable of such remorse, then Shota would have had to accept that, despite his incredible talent, he would have zero potential as a true hero. He'd forever be a constant danger to himself and everyone around him.

Shota looked over the boys, taking note of their conditions again and added, "as for your injuries, if the pain doesn't get better, go to the infirmary. However, don't you dare go on thinking that you can rely on that lady's quirk."

Bakugou and Midoriya exchanged a look and Shota could tell that, at the very least, the relationship between them would come through this vastly improved in comparison to what it had been before. He would have to remember that when he considered how he approached the situation later. He didn't want to undo the progress they had made here.

"S-so, I guess we should go back, now?" Izuku asked.

If the situation had been less serious, Shota might have smirked at Midoriya's attempt to slip away. It was just like him to see to someone else's needs but then try to avoid anyone interested in dealing with his personal problems. "Not quite. What did Bakugou mean when referring to your 'new quirk?'"

Shota was already thinking about certain things he'd noticed about Midoriya that were starting to come together like the pieces of a puzzle he hadn't even known was there before, completely eclipsed by the much more noticeable mystery of the tension between him and Bakugou. Still, the teacher felt that he should have noticed sooner.

First, there was Midoriya's learning curve. He'd gone from breaking most of the bones in his body, to specific parts, to being able to mostly manage his power, all in the course of a couple months. That learning curve didn't match a teenager who'd had over a decade to learn how to manage his quirk. What it did match was the way toddlers who got powerful, self-destructive quirks might learn to wield their abilities.

Except such children didn't go from being in peak physical condition to having limbs so mangled that they were a blow short of complete uselessness in a matter of months. Of course, they weren't required to perform with those quirks in the field and were instead sent to quirk counselors who would help them learn to manage their abilities properly.

In fact, Shota recalled that he wasn't the first person to make such an observation. Not by a long shot. While the staff had discussed his performance during the entrance exam, the issue had come up. ' _He was considerably damaged by his own attack…like a child getting a first glimpse of his power_.'

At the time, Shota had assumed the boy had neglected his quirk, making him write the kid off. But day one of class, the boy had killed that assumption. So now, with Bakugou's comment, he had to wonder…

"Midoriya, when did your quirk manifest?"

And at that question, Midoriya's form seemed to shrink in on itself as he trembled. He could see the kid calculating exactly what he should say. Midoriya had many skills, hiding secrets when directly confronted wasn't one of them. After a couple moments, he finally stated, "Right before the entrance exam."

Shota glanced at Bakugou, who stated, "I never saw him use it before the first day of classes." Which explained his violent reaction when Midoriya had thrown the baseball with the power of his quirk behind it. He thought his longtime classmate and victim had been holding back on him.

Shota again considered the shape the Midoriya was in and felt confident that the boy was telling the truth…but his face said that it was not the full truth. "How many times had you used it before the exam."

"I…didn't."

"Fucking seriously, Deku?!" It seemed like, even when Bakugou was too drained to rally his anger for himself, he could still find it for Midoriya. What did that say for how he felt toward the other boy?

Shota glared at Bakugou making sure he wouldn't interrupt again. Then he looked at Midoriya and said, "You ran into the UA Entrance Exam with a newly active, unused, untested quirk with no idea what it did?"

The look on Midoriya's face mixed with his fear was not the shame of a child who'd done something stupid and was receiving a scolding for doing so. It was indignation. But it only lasted for a moment before it sank beneath the aforementioned fear like quicksand.

And of course, Midoriya wouldn't run in without even the slightest idea of what he would be doing. His plans were often reckless and self-destructive, but he always had them, and a few backups if possible. His problem, other than his blatant lack of concern for himself, was that he needed time, even a couple seconds, to form that plan. He was poor at simply reacting spontaneously in the field. A fact Bakugou had taken full advantage of tonight.

Even if Midoriya didn't care about the damage to himself, he wouldn't have risked the robot being able to continue its path to Uraraka. He'd known exactly what he was doing when he'd leapt at the Zero-Pointer as it threatened her during the exam. So, even without using his quirk, he'd had an understanding of exactly what it was. How?

And who had ever heard of a quirk activating over a decade late? There were a few types of quirks that could hide for that long but they were all subtle. Midoriya's was anything but.

So, when the green haired boy got a determined - if regretful - gleam in his eye, Shota cut him off. "Midoriya, your face has already given you away. Don't stand there and try to lie to me."

At that, the boy deflated, looking more than a little relieved. "We can't talk about it. It's not just my secret."

Bakugou growled. "Should've learned to keep it sooner."

"You weren't exactly quiet about whatever it was tonight either, Bakugou," Shota stated.

At that, the blond glared at his feet but didn't retort. He knew it was true.

Shota wished All Might was here to talk to Midoriya. _As close as they were, he could…_ suddenly, all gears in his mind ground to a halt, before spinning again, double time.

All Might, who already had picked Midoriya as his clear favorite before day one. Whose quirk was easily comparable to Midoriya's. In seconds, more pieces clicked into place. All Might's decline had taken a steep curve at the beginning of the year, matching the time period where this boy had shown up. Shota had attributed it to his declining health and the USJ incident but maybe there were more factors involved.

And just now, hadn't Midoriya mentioned that All Might had "used up" his power. The failure could have been caused by several different things and it wasn't unreasonable to suspect that it had somehow been finite and reached its limit, as such quirks did exist. But Midoriya had spoken as if it was a fact, rather than a possibility.

Until now, the word 'coincidence,' would have seemed to be the only explanation to the late appearance of Midoriya's quirk and the fading of All Might's power. But with Kamino Ward, with the reveal of All for One, it had been revealed that quirks could be transferred. Could be taken. And the way All Might fought that man waiting for him there spoke of a bitter history.

And if there was one way to do transfer quirks between people, there could be others. Off the bat, he could easily imagine a copier quirk out there that could permanently duplicate another person's quirk to make it their own. Or someone who could simply pass quirks along between people without using them. He was going to have nightmares over the possibilities, now that he'd started thinking of them.

"You already knew what it could do…you'd-" Shota glanced around, recalling that the walls had ears here and there was at least one pair on campus that would leak information to their enemies. "It's All Might, isn't it? He's the other person."

Midoriya and Bakugou exchanged another glance that was as much of a confirmation as any that they could have given one aloud.

Midoriya started mumbling to himself and Shota got enough to know he was trying to decide where to start and put up a hand. "Not here. The Teacher's Lounge is soundproofed," Shota stated.

Izuku nodded.

And suddenly pieces to a puzzle Shota hadn't even known was there began snapping into place, starting to form an image that he really didn't like.

He looked at Bakugou, "how much do you know about this?"

"'Bout as much as you right now."

Shota nodded, already frustrated that he boy knew so much, even as he was relieved that he didn't know more. Whatever this secret was, it was huge. _Dangerous_. It needed to be contained as much as possible. "Go back to the dorm and don't discuss it with anyone. If you need to know more, you will hear it later. Do you understand?"

Bakugou nodded in understanding before turning and walking off into the night.

* * *

 **At this point in the series, I think that Bakugou is at a point where he no longer considers Izuku weak but he doesn't quite comprehend what it is that makes him strong. He's still someone who views the world around him in terms of strength but is just starting to question that way of thinking. For years, he has been a bully who enjoyed inflicting pain on those he views as weaker than him and I don't think he has been given a chance to shed all of that yet. He is not a nice person, even though he is improving over the course of the series. Although his fight with Izuku may have helped him along the road to being a better person, he can't completely change overnight, as is a point often made throughout the series. It's going to be something I'm going to try to explore in this story. In consideration of this, I tried to make Bakugou's reflections display him as a jerk but still make it possible to sympathize with him.**

 **If anyone thinks it's out of character for Bakugou to break down with Aizawa in a similar way as he did to All Might, I disagree. Of all the staff, Aizawa has repetitively demonstrated the deepest understanding of Bakugou. There is no doubt that the boy is seriously flawed but he wants to be a hero.**

 **Both times that the public has turned on him, first in the arena against Uraraka and then criticizing his attitude as possibly villainous after his kidnapping, it was Aizawa alone who defended him. I feel that Aizawa is arguably the most supportive teacher Bakugou has ever had. Maybe the most supportive authority figure, depending on how people might interpret his parents' treatment of him.**

 **Bakugou would usually pretend to be unaffected by Aizawa's words but it would be an act. There's no way he couldn't feel for one of the only people who ever both stopped poor behaviors, like when he tried to attack Izuku on day one and defended his positive ones. Take a look at how Bakugou acts in the moments after the incidents mentioned above. He was unreadable in the arena, which is a major step up from his usual attitude of being pissed off at everything. He was also emboldened when held by the villains. It was actually seeing the UA broadcast when he started calculating an escape route, rather than just thinking about how to hold the villains off.**

 **I think that he would trust Aizawa enough to expose his vulnerability around him.**

 **And honestly, I would be rather disappointed if Aizawa didn't have some idea of the emotions that might be behind his mask of constant anger. He might not know all the specifics but I think he has a good general idea for Bakugou's true emotional state. He was quick to accept All Might's explanation of Bakugou's meltdown in the cannon. It certainly wasn't surprising once he had it explained to him.**

 **Mind, I think that he's ignored a lot as well, for the sake of plot convenience because as the teacher with the largest expulsion rate, people like Bakugou or Mineta should have been noted and addressed if not outright expelled within the first few days. After the way Bakugou hit Izuku during the exam, there should have been repercussions as well.**

 **At this point in the series, I personally think that Bakugou is a promising hero by the standards of this society, which looks mainly at quirks and strength, rather than personality. By my definition of being a hero, having to care for and protect others, it's around this point in the series that there are signs that he might be capable of being a hero of any sort one day and not necessarily a great one, yet.**

 **Izuku's inability to hide his secrets well is something that comes up quite a bit in the series and is brought up here for an important reason beyond just that it is part of his character. One of the things that is going to get attention in this is Izuku's intelligence and that it is going to be noticed. A major part of the main MHA series is showing students strengths and weaknesses, including their potential and areas that need room for improvement. I want to remain true to that. Izuku is smart but he has obvious weak points, his ability to keep secrets is a big example of that.**

 **I know that the 'Cat Lady' Bakugou referenced is Mandalay but Bakugou almost never uses names but I didn't see him give her a nickname, so I stuck to that here.**

 **I've got a head cannon about Hound Dog's behavior when he's not out in the field that I'll write more on later. I'm thinking with stuff like these sessions, I'll show one meeting to give an idea of what happens but otherwise just reference future ones, unless they further the plot. Otherwise, things might drag.**

 **By the way, since I've talked about Bakugou so much in the notes of the last couple chapters, if anyone was really interested and wants to read a good Analysis of Bakugou in the series, I would recommend Chapters 34 and 38 of** _ **Ne Plus Ultra**_ **by ItsClydeBitches on Archive of Our Own. I'd also recommend checking the whole piece out if you like reading a series of short stories related to My Hero Academia with various themes.**


	4. It's Okay to Cry

**Chapter 4: It's Okay to Cry**

Yagi and Tsukachi were finally past the traffic jam.

Toshinori watched the long line of headlights in the rearview mirror as they disappeared from view around the bend, glad to finally be past it and on the way back to the school.

He looked out into the night at the lights of the city. Although he could catch glimpses of every color imaginable, the golden lights from the highway were by far the most common.

He smiled as he found himself reflecting on another set of lights. They had been in America. Ones very different than the those of the city.

The sun had just set, the world enshrouded in that deep royal blue that sets in just before true darkness. The sky was clear and stars were just starting to come out.

They were tiny flashes that lasted for a fraction of a second before vanishing. Some were moving through the air when they appeared, others in the grass of the field where he stood. They'd put him on guard, as he didn't know what would happen if he came into contact with them.

Luckily, Dave had been there with him.

"What's wrong?" the man asked in his native tongue. It was something that Toshinori had insisted he do so that he could build his skills in speaking the language.

"It looks like someone's showing off their quirk," he stated, his English still thickly accented. Whatever it was, it had seemed harmless, and actually kind of nice to watch. But public quirk use was illegal nonetheless, unless it was a child who couldn't control it.

Dave Shields smiled, "Oh, that's right, you don't have lightning bugs in Japan, do you?"  
"Lightning…Bugs?"

"They're tiny bugs that we have here." Dave switched to Japanese; his speech almost as thickly accented as All Might's English. He explained that there were tiny insects that came out and flashed their lights as they flew at night. "They were here long before quirks ever existed."

Toshinori had found it amazing that such a thing could happen without a quirk and had kept an eye out for the tiny golden lights at night from then on while he stayed in America. They were amazing to watch.

In the car now, thinking back, Toshinori wondered how Izuku would react to the sight. He would bet the kid would be even more enthralled than he was. He smiled at the thought.

Toshinori hoped Izuku would get to see them one day, even if he couldn't be there to see it. Honestly, he hoped all of the kids he worked with got to experience something like that.

"What are you thinking about?" Tsukachi asked.

Yagi opened his mouth to respond when he was interrupted by his phone beeping, a new text having come in. He pulled it out to see it was from Aizawa and as he saw the text on the screen, he cursed in English.

 _I just had to stop a fight between Midoriya and Bakugou. Both Bakugou and I are now aware of the nature of Midoriya's quirk. I have sent Bakugou to bed with strict directions to say nothing and am about to speak with Midoriya in depth. Come to the staff lounge, we need to talk after I'm done speaking with him._

"What's wrong?"

"The number of people who know about One for All just increased by two. I was worried that Young Bakugou might figure things out after Midoriya said something on their second day, especially once he confronted me about my bond with the boy. But I wasn't counting on Eraserhead being there when that happened."

Tsukachi frowned thoughtfully. He was silent for a moment before stating, "Eraserhead knowing might actually be a good thing. Even if we hadn't seen how he stepped up when villains attacked his students, I've worked with him for a long time. You can trust him."

All Might huffed quietly before whispering, almost to himself, "If I survive the 'talk' we have tonight."

Tsukachi winced, "Do you need backup?"

All Might thought about it. "No, I need to do this myself."

Still, he wasn't looking forward to it.

* * *

Izuku was silent as he walked next to Aizawa. Eraserhead paid him little mind as he texted other teachers to let them know that he would be out for a time and needed someone to temporarily take up his position on watch.

On top of all Izuku's other worries, he now felt guilty for taking up Aizawa's time like this.

"This is far more important than anything I would be doing, otherwise."

Izuku hadn't even realized he'd started mumbling until Aizawa replied.

Once they entered the teacher's lounge, Izuku sat in the middle of the couch. The calm he'd felt earlier when watching Aizawa comfort Kacchan was gone, and his trembling undoubtedly gave that away.

Izuku chose to gaze down at his tightly clasped hands, rather than up at his teacher. He was frightened of what he'd see when he looked. Would the man push him away for lying about his quirk? Maybe he would stop thinking Izuku could become a hero because of it. What about when he realized Izuku wasn't born with any quirk at all?

And then there was the fact that Izuku slipped up and revealed his secret in the first place. Would All Might be disappointed in him?

At least now things were better between Kacchan and him. But he _knew_ now. Izuku remembered how a few months after he'd first attempted to tell Kacchan, All Might had revealed that he hadn't even told Mr. Shields, worriedfor his friend's safety. Before that, Izuku hadn't thought of the danger aspect Kacchan knowing his secret. What if…

A hand landed gently on Izuku's shoulder and he instinctively flinched. Before coming to UA, the only people who he could trust to reach out without the intent to hurt him were his mom and more recently, All Might…even if there were occasional near bone crushing hugs.

Even now, with hugs, pats on the back and other warm interactions he might get from classmates, a fair amount of his physical contact came in the form of blows he might take in hero training or during villain attack. There were also occasions that he took a few hits because some of the very people who embraced him reacted emotionally to something he said or did. And wasn't just Kacchan either, even if his reactions were the most violent. Not that the others were wrong when they did that. Like how Iida thought he'd been going after the villains for reasons comparable to why he chased Stain or when All Might had punched him the first time they'd met up at Kamino ward for his reckless behavior.

Whatever the reason, he could never be sure what to expect when other people reached out to touch him. There was a part of him that was almost always on guard, expecting that next blow. Because of this, when someone actually did touch him and he wasn't ready for it, it startled him.

But when Izuku felt the gentle touch start to lift away, he surprised himself by placing his own hand over his teacher's, holding it there. Despite being d by the unexpected touch, it actually felt nice…safe, kind, reassuring. He only ever got feeling that from a few people in his life, but he could now add one more to that short list.

Izuku leaned into the touch, his eyes stinging as he finally dared to glance upward. He knew that whatever happened next, that he wasn't about to be rejected by Aizawa.

Izuku could trust him.

Aizawa's image was blurry through tears Izuku tried to hold back. It was only then that he realized he'd been hyperventilating. "S-s-sorry, old h-habit." Like the stuttering. Tonight had taken a lot out of him.

"Panic attacks and flinches aren't 'habits' Midoriya." Aizawa was crouched so that he was at eye level with Izuku. "Take a moment. Just breathe."

Izuku nodded and the tears started.

The teen quickly proceeded to wipe them away with the hand he had previously used to hold Aizawa's hand where it rested on his shoulder. The attempt proved to be a pointless as new tracks quickly replaced the ones he'd swiped away. "I was supposed to stop crying so much."

"If crying helps, then do it. You don't need to put on a fake smile for me."

It took a moment for Izuku to process Aizawa's words. And, understanding that he was being told it was alright, a dam broke within his chest, emotions he'd kept behind it overflowing. There was so much he shoved back so he could smile for everyone else. For the first time in maybe his whole life, he was encouraged to show how he felt.

A whine escaped his throat as his tears flowed faster and sobs began to wrack his body. It had been a long day.

So much that he'd strived for ever since he was little had all come to a head in the last few hours. Today, he had gotten his hero license and he had finally broken through to Kacchan, two things that were the culmination of dreams he had throughout his childhood.

He was able to help Kacchan with his own pain.

There'd also been suffering he couldn't do anything about. He'd crushed the dreams of others in the field in order to achieve his own, even as the begged and pleaded. He'd found out that Kacchan had thought Izuku looked down on him. He'd also exposed Kacchan and Aizawa to the secret to his quirk.

He was just told it was okay to express how he felt about it all…

It was so much…too much. And he couldn't deal with it all.

At some point, Izuku realized he now had his arms wrapped around Aizawa's ribs and was crying into the same spot Kacchan had earlier.

Aizawa didn't stop him.

Izuku wasn't sure how long it lasted before he finally calmed down, the flow of tears coming to an end for the moment. And although it had exhausted him, it was like crying had cleared his head and so that gears of his mind could start to turn again.

Even as part of him wanted to stay like he was, safe in this warm embrace, he knew he couldn't. He had things to do and he suspected that Aizawa wasn't exactly in his own comfort zone at the moment. Now that his mind was working, he realized how stilted Aizawa's movements had been. Like he wanted to do more to comfort Izuku but was not sure how to go about it.

That was okay. Izuku wasn't very familiar with how to properly accept comfort from others anyway. Up until now, he'd only really ever gotten them from his mom and, more recently, All Might.

"Th-thank you. I needed that." Izuku leaned away and Aizawa let him go, all but the hand on his shoulder.

Izuku stared down at his own hands again, in order to take a moment to collect himself. He then looked up into Aizawa's tired eyes and stated, "I think that I'm ready to talk now."

"Are you sure?"

Izuku paused for a moment before saying, "N-not really but I think I'm as close as I'm going to get."

Aizawa gave a single nod before retracting his hand. In a blink, the tired but comforting, concerned gaze shifted to the serious, analytical one Izuku was used to from his teacher. It happened so quickly that it almost seemed like a switch had been flipped. He sat in a comforter perpendicular to the couch and waited for Izuku to speak. The mask Izuku previously hadn't even recognized was always there until that moment was now back in place. The walls of the formality for their relationship as student and teacher were back, if more transparent than before.

Having seen through it allowed Izuku to stay calm now. Although he was still nervous about the conversation he was about to have with his teacher, he wasn't nearly as worried as before.

* * *

 **Originally, the only part of this chapter that existed was the interaction between Izuku and Aizawa and it was part of a larger chapter that included the discussion of One For All but it got too long and although this was the best cut off point, it also left me with an extremely short chapter.**

 **So, I decided to add a section where Eraserhead sends a message to All Might. I wanted a scene to act as a reminder that despite the fact that All Might has made some major mistakes with Izuku that they were all unintentional and he really does care about his Students. I think it's extremely important, since his actions play such a role for the negative feelings that are abound in these chapters. I love the character but I hate some of the problems his inexperience has caused. I don't want the prior sentiment to be lost in my story, so I wrote his section in to lengthen this chapter.**

 **But I have good news, the fact that I split a single chapter in multiple ones after it was almost complete means that the next chapter is pretty much ready to roll and you shouldn't have to wait very long on it at all.**

 **On a different but serious note, at the point where Izuku justifies people hitting him, I don't hold the view he expressed. It just seems how he would think. I don't agree with it at all and think that the violent reactions were not proper responses in any way shape or form.**

 **Edit: I changed the text so that rather than Aizawa stating that he and Bakugou learned about the quirk Izuku inherited from All Might, he instead states that they learned about the nature of Izuku's Quirk. I would like to thank Fencer 29 for pointing that out, along with other suggestions and ideas.**

 **Another Edit: I mention this in a later chapter but I now know that there are fireflies in Japan. In this universe, I am going to say some catastrophe (quirk/pesticide/insect disease/etc.) has damaged/destroyed them. If I get a chance to bring it up in the story in a reasonable manner, I will but I don't want to change anything in the story if I don't have to.**


	5. Explanations and Realizations

**Chapter 5: Explanations and Realizations**

Izuku rubbed his now sore eyes as he considered how to start describing One for All to Aizawa. He knew that his teacher liked everything being explained logically, so he wouldn't want some big backstory. At least, not immediately. So, Izuku decided to try his best to just give a general overview for now.

"I registered my quirk just a few months ago. I described it as 'Super Power.'" Izuku had chosen that because it seemed like an accurate but simple description that wouldn't give away too much about the true nature of his newfound power. He looked down at his hands again. "Its real name is 'One for All'. It's a roughly two-century-old transferrable power-stockpiling quirk that grows stronger with each user. All Might was its eighth holder. I'm the ninth."

Izuku paused, expecting Aizawa to interject with some sort if question or comment, but he said nothing, his face blank, clearly waiting for Izuku to give him a full explanation. So, the green haired teen continued. "One for All is so powerful that I can't even handle all of it yet. Tonight, I just used it at 8% for the first time without hurting myself. But I don't know how long I can hold that. I'll have to test it during training." Izuku flexed his right arm and opened the palm of that hand to study it. It seemed like whenever he thought about his quirk, he found himself automatically thinking about his hand, despite having refocused his training so that he primarily used his legs.

He'd always led with his right hand. The first time he had used One for All had been to throw a right hook at the 0 pointer. Facing Todoroki in the arena, he'd used only that hand. He'd even planned to use it to catch Kacchan off guard. But it had also-

Izuku closed his palm and looked back up at Aizawa as he continued. "When All Might chose me as his successor, he couldn't even immediately give me One for All in fear that it would blow my limbs off." Izuku smiled, reminiscing over the times that followed as he said, "He put me through ten months of strict training so that my body would be ready to handle it. Even he said it was a rush job. I started out with barely any muscle to speak of. I was a bit of a runner, if anything. Before then, I figured that if I was going to be a hero, it wouldn't ever be through strength, so I travelled on foot whenever I could." Not to mention experience getting out of the way while watching hero villain standoff or outrunning bullies who chased him using their quirks. "He made me work hard and I pushed myself even further. We had a deadline and it was way too close to make it easily. But we did it and on the morning of the Entrance Exam, he transferred One for All to me." He grimaced slightly as he recalled the sensation of fighting down the hair he'd had to eat. "And you already know about the first time I used it… and the second."

"The Entrance Exam and the ball throw." Izuku looked up, startled by the tension in Aizawa's voice. When he did, he saw that although his teacher looked calm as he glanced out the window, strands of hair were settling back down around his face. He'd momentarily activated his quirk.

Izuku froze. Through his quirkless childhood in an environment where other kids were constantly using theirs, one of the most important skills he'd built was being able to read people so he'd know whether or not he should be ready to run, either away to stay safe or toward the people to protect someone else. Aizawa was angry but he was trying to hide it. So angry that, despite all of his years of training and the control he had over his quirk, he'd activated it as part of his emotional reaction. What had Izuku said that had upset him so much? "Aizawa Sensei?"

Aizawa took a deep breath and sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose briefly. He looked back up at Izuku. "It's not you. Please, continue."

Izuku nodded. "I kind of think of my quirk as an egg in a microwave. There was no way that I could use all of my power without exploding that egg yet, so I focused on just my finger, and only blowing that up. It let me use my quirk and still function even if I didn't really know how to control it. It took me a while after that to find out that what I should have been doing was spreading it through my whole body at once, so I could equalize the energy flow, not focusing it in one spot."

Izuku saw Aizawa's hair rise and his jaw muscles tighten as he focused a red-eyed gaze on the floor and crossed his arms.

"What-"

"You should never have been placed in the hero course so inexperienced."

Izuku flinched, feeling tears prick his eyes. "I did the best I could."

"Once again, it's not you I'm criticizing. What you just told me makes the strides you've made all the more impressive. But the hero program is not designed for people with newly activated quirks. The standards of this course – the standards I set – directly led you to pick up self-destructive habits that could have been avoided with a period of basic quirk counselling." His gaze fell on Izuku's hands. "Among your other injuries, the permanent damage you sustained while facing Todoroki during the Sports Festival might have been avoided. And that was because I made demands that you weren't ready for."

Izuku suddenly understood what the most recent burst of anger was toward. "It's not your fault! You didn't know."

"It might not be my fault alone, but as your teacher, some of the blame rests with me. I don't know about the rest of the permanent damage to your arms, but your right hand is never going to be the same again because of my training regimen."

"I'm the one who chose to use my quirk like that!" Izuku defended.

"And if you had been given a curriculum that matched your actual skill level, you never would have had to make that choice. I doubt I would have been able to completely pull you out of hero training, considering your quirk and those who probably know about it, but I certainly wouldn't have let you participate in the tournament."

"But I thought that was important for becoming a professional hero."

"In your case, it might not have been as important as keeping you training safely and out of the public eye," Aizawa stated. "Instead, we advertised both your quirk and your inexperience with it. And I doubt it's a coincidence that the name of your quirk has much in common with the title of the man who wrecked Kamino Ward, doesn't it?"

Izuku felt his insides freeze. So, the heroes had been informed of his name.

Izuku hadn't even thought about All for One seeing him in action during the tournament. A shiver ran down his spine as he gave a single nod. Was it possible that the ancient villain had identified Izuku during the tournament? Before he'd known about the man's existence? Had the man known as he'd spotted Izuku and his classmates launching themselves over the battlefield to rescue Kacchan? What would have happened if All Might hadn't blocked the attack he'd intended to make at the time?

Of course, Izuku had planned the rescue with the expectation that All Might would be able to keep him busy, but still… did All for One know?

Izuku took a deep breath, in and out, to calm himself before continuing. "You're right, All for One has at least one quirk that keeps him from dying of old age." Although he probably a few, as the man would not want to escape the effects of aging just to be taken out by cancer or even a random strain of the flu. "His power doesn't just allow him to take and use quirks, but also to fuse them together to make new ones and pass them to other people."

"One for All's first user was his little brother. He was weak and sickly but he still fought against his elder brother. He was also quirkless. At least, that's what they both thought when All for One forced a stockpiling quirk on him in hopes getting him to stop fighting. It turned out that his little brother actually had a dormant quirk that could be transferred between people. The stockpiling quirk fused with the transferrable one and became One for All."

Aizawa frowned. "All for One can steal quirks. Why didn't he just take One for All like he did Rag Doll's Search?"

"One for All's transfer is completely dependent on the will of its current user," Izuku explained. "It can't be forcefully taken. For all we know, it could be the only quirk in existence that All for One can't just take."

"The only one?" Aizawa asked bitterly through gritted teeth. No, Izuku realized, noting his paling features. It was not anger but fear. "So that means whoever possesses One for All is a target."

"I don't know about the quirk itself making us targets, but all of the One for All users before me devoted themselves to fighting All for One. That definitely made us a point of focus for him." Izuku continued along his line of thought, cupping his chin in his right hand. "Still, if I were to guess at the psychological effects of a man with a quirk like that coming across one he couldn't take… and that's not even mentioning the fact that now it's the only living piece of his brother…."

Izuku's free hand joined the other as their fingers steepled together over his mouth and nose while he continued along his train of thought. "The thing is, if either One for All itself or the threat its users posed are so important, then why didn't All for One get more proactive after I showed up in the tournament? Even if he wasn't sure, it wouldn't have been so hard to check. Anyone watching the tournament would have known that I couldn't use my quirk without hurting myself and, if it was One for All, that I could only wield the smallest fraction of it."

Izuku pressed his fingers together so hard that it almost hurt as he continued. "He even had a perfect opportunity during the time when I was shadowing. That was a whole week where I wouldn't have been under UA protection. Even if Gran Torino was All Might's teacher, one man could have only done so much. I even travelled alone for a few hours to reach his apartment, and then spent hours working on my quirk outside at night while he slept."

Izuku lifted his pointer fingers away from each other before bringing them back together over his nose with a small thump. "It would have been worse for me because All Might hadn't even told me about All for One yet. Not that he would have known that. Unless he could use a quirk that would allow him to find out, which would be a rather specific function, so not impossible but very unlikely."

"It would have been the perfect opportunity to neutralize me as a threat. But, I'm pretty sure it was just a coincidence that I was in Hosu at the same time as the Nomu attack. Gran Torino had just happened to choose the area for patrolling. I don't think the Nomu that grabbed me was…."

Izuku trailed off, realizing that Aizawa was watching him intensely as he rambled. The boy felt a blush rise to his cheeks as he said, "Sorry, All Might keeps telling me I have a habit of just mumbling nonsense."

The teacher didn't look very pleased by the statement. "I don't know which to be more concerned about, the fact that he didn't tell you about All for One by that point or the fact that he called what you just did 'nonsense.'"

"He thought All for One was dead."

Aizawa opened his mouth to say something before closing it, seeming to decide against verbalizing whatever thought he'd had.

"And as for what I was mumbling, it is nonsense, isn't it?" Izuku added. "Nothing actually happened, so I shouldn't be worried."

"Assuming that your concerns never come to pass means they don't matter' is a dangerous precedent to set, Midoriya. You should always consider what your opponent might do next. Your habit of doing so is likely one of the main reasons you've made it through all of the villain encounters you've had."

"Sometimes, I guess. But my classmates get creeped out when I talk about stuff like possible strikes that never happened."

Suddenly, the man didn't look tired at all. He looked annoyed. "Oh, they do, do they?" His frown deepened as he then asked, "Midoriya, would you be able to write an in-depth description of your experiences during your encounters with villains, including the interactions you had with your classmates?"

"I-I-I… of course I can, but why?"

"Let's just say I'm going to be making plans for future classes and your 'nonsense' is going to be very useful for them." He shook his head, "If anything, the main problem is not that you're thinking things through, but that you're absentmindedly telegraphing those thoughts for anyone to hear. It could give away your location as well as your strategies." His frown only seemed to deepen as he continued, "But if even a fraction of what you just said is true, and it all does sound very reasonable, All for One definitely should have taken the opportunity for a preemptive strike. Career Villains don't survive long if they take risks like ignoring a possible opportunity to take out legitimate threats while they're vulnerable. Certainly not long enough to reach Super Villain status, let alone survive two centuries in that position."

"Aizawa, do… do you think he chose not to come after me?"

"I don't know, Midoriya, but I won't rule it out as a possibility, and neither should you."

"But why would he?"

"A good question to use your 'nonsense' for as any." The hero frowned, "I still can't believe that All Might didn't say anything about All for One before giving you that quirk, even if he believed the man was dead." After a moment, he added "There are quite a few things he should have done."

"It wouldn't have made a difference. I would have still taken One for All."

Aizawa looked like there was a lot he wanted to say in response to that but he instead, he just stated, "I believe you. An analysis quirk would have been difficult to sell for heroics. Especially if that's what's slowing your reaction speed."

Izuku looked up at the man, confused. "You think I have a mental enhancement quirk?"

"That wasn't it, just now?"

Izuku bit his lip, thrown off by the thought of his analysis being good enough to be mistaken for a quirk. "No. I don't… I didn't have a quirk. I've got the double-jointed pinky toe and everything," Izuku pointed at his feet as he said this. He looked down, his vision blurring again before he rubbed his eyes. He'd never actually talked about his pinky toe aloud to anyone. "My analysis skills are just something I worked on. I always wanted to be a hero. I always wanted to help people. But you can't do that if you don't have a quirk. That's why I would have said yes to All Might when he offered me One for All, no matter what."

"Midoriya…."

"You don't like me saying it." Izuku looked up at Aizawa, his frustration creeping into his voice. "Tell me I'm wrong, then. You wouldn't waste time with someone who couldn't be a hero. If I had gone into the exam without a quirk, would you have looked twice? Would you have even seen me at all?"

Aizawa sighed and clasped his hands together. "Only to criticize the stupidity of getting a kid's hope up like that."

Izuku thought about the years he'd spent refining his analytical skills to make up for the lack of a quirk. It wouldn't have mattered; he wouldn't have been even considered for half a second. All people are not born equal. He always knew that.

Aizawa sighed. "Doesn't make it any easier though, does it?"

Izuku bit his lip. "I really need to do something about my mumbling."

Aizawa Sensei gave a single nod.

For a moment they were silent. Izuku knew that Aizawa understood more about that unfairness than most, considering both the nature of his quirk and things he undoubtedly witnessed in his position as an underground hero. Izuku was well aware that he was one of those few people who'd been transferred over into heroics. His quirk wasn't suited for robots. It wasn't the same as being quirkless, but he understood to an extent.

Aizawa was the one to break the silence. "Still, I don't want to even imagine where we would be now if that had happened. How many people wouldn't have been saved if you hadn't been there?"

Izuku looked up at the statement. "I'm sure someone else would have stepped in."

"For some of the incidents, maybe." Aizawa paused, running his hand through his hair before stating, "Kota wrote a letter for you. I made sure the hospital staff received it, for when you woke up. Did they give it to you?"

Izuku felt his eyes widen as tears threatened to fall again. Aizawa had been the one to give it to the hospital staff? "Yeah, they did."

Kota, who only he'd known how to find when the League attacked. He trembled at the thought of what would have happened if he hadn't been there to stop Muscular.

"And I also know what a cover up looks like. It was after the Hosu incident that I pushed to have the first years take the hero licensing exam early."

Izuku looked up at Aizawa and blinked in confusion, the tears escaping, "You knew."

"No one officially told me anything. If I were to find something, like that two of my students saved a classmate and a pro hero when that first one tried to get revenge against Stain for his brother, all three of acting without licenses, there would have been consequences. After all, I would have to punish them for vigilantism. I might have possibly had to consider expulsion. So, I never officially asked. Not about the incident on I-Island either."

Aizawa had known. He'd known the whole time. Even as Izuku marveled over the connections the man must have in order to learn any of this, he still found himself asking, "Why didn't you?"

"Because all of you have the potential to become incredible heroes. The best of the best. In order for that to happen, you need to get through school first. You aren't going make it easy to get you through to graduation but don't you ever write off the lives you've saved. Do you hear me, Problem Child?"

There was no stopping the tears as Izuku nodded, but this time they were tears of joy. Aizawa had just told him that he had the potential to be one of the best heroes and pointed out the fact that he'd already saved people.

Aizawa paused for a moment before stating, "I have too many questions about your quirk to cover right now. Especially with the other things I need to talk to you about. Over the course of your house arrest, I want you to write a report about One for All, along with the write ups of your experience with the League of Villain attacks."

"A report? On my quirk?" Izuku asked, suddenly feeling a touch of excitement. He'd never written a report about a quirk for someone else to read.

"Yes, I want you to explain One for All to the best of your abilities. I want to be able to understand it so that I might adjust your training accordingly.

* * *

 **So, here's the next part of the conversation between Izuku and Aizawa. There's a little more to go.**

 **Also, you might have noticed some hand gestures I slipped in to the story, I've found out how important the hands are to Horikoshi, so I am adding a little focus on what the characters do with their hands in respect to that.**

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter.**

 **Edit: I changed Izuku's public name for OFA from 'Strangeth Enhancement' to 'Super Power' since that is the canon name.**


	6. Untapped Potential

**Chapter 6: Untapped Potential**

When Shota ordered Midoriya to write a description of his quirk, he didn't expect his student to have any issues. So, naturally, he was caught off guard when the boy started to slowly rock back and forth as he mumbled about proper structure for the piece and the fingers of his right hand began twitching. He hadn't intended to cause his student more stress. Today was undoubtedly already proving to be hard enough for him.

The man decided to nip the problem in the bud right then and there.

"You don't need to be concerned about your report fitting the correct academic structures. We haven't covered the procedures for them, so all you have to do is present your work in an organized-"

"I'll give you my best, Aizawa Sensei," Midoriya declared exuberantly. At the sight of the boy's sparkling eyes, Shota realized that he'd completely misjudged the situation. The kid wasn't nervous… he was excited. His fingers weren't twitching; he'd been writing, only without a pen in hand.

The smile Izuku had now was completely different from the ones Shota had seen even when Midoriya had with his closest classmates. There was no quiet restraint to this. To the contrary, it looked like the boy could burst from his chair at the lightest touch in his excitement for the task Shota had just given him.

Was this how he really was when he was happy, not for others, but for himself? It was warm and contagious.

Shota wasn't sure what it was about an essay on One for All that would get Midoriya that excited but he was glad he'd given the kid something to be happy about. Especially after the darker emotions that had been surfacing throughout most of this conversation; after the guarded emotions and silent determination the boy had carried throughout the whole of his time at UA.

And Midoriya's smile disappeared, replaced by the thoughtful determination that he more commonly associated with his student. He seemed to become lost in his own world, his right hand picking up speed as he cupped his left around it, like he was holding the notebook he often pulled out during class. As he 'wrote', his mumbling started up again, too fast and too quiet to understand. Even as the boy's focus was drawn away and his smile had disappeared from his features, he still seemed to radiate a positive, almost manic energy.

As glad as Shota was to have unintentionally lit that spark, he knew that if he let Midoriya get lost down whatever rabbit hole he was heading down, this conversation would be over and they were far from done.

"And when you're not working on it, you will hand your assignment to me."

Midoriya's hand came to a halt, enthusiastic mumbling cutting off with it as the happy confidence disappeared to leave behind a fearful look that Shota was more familiar with in the first few seconds where Midoriya was under pressure, before his determination would catch up.

But instead of that determination, Midoriya just seemed to get more worried, starting to tremble. He crossed his arms, holding his hands to his chest and tucking his chin over them, as if Shota had just threatened to steal his imaginary writing from his hands. Midoriya seemed almost on the verge of tears as he asked, "Why?"

Shota had to fight to keep the negative emotions from reaching his features, both his sorrow and worry at the shift in Midoriya's mood. He also did it to mask his anger at All Might for the increasing number of ways he'd fucked up with the boy. "The fact that you have to ask that is the first problem. All Might really didn't go over anything about the importance of keeping secrets with you, did he?"

"He went over it some, but not before I told Kacchan. He just told me that it was important not to talk about it then, but later he explained that he didn't discuss it with his friend Dr. Shields because it could put him in danger. Still, it's not like I ever go around showing off my notes."

"That's not enough. You need to take every precaution possible. You can't just count on everyone respecting your pri-" _Wait a minute_. "You already have notes on it?" He knew that the boy took notes for class, but he had just assumed that was Midoriya taking his lessons seriously. But if he did it outside of class, too…. "And what else have you been writing about?"

Midoriya's face turned beat red. "Analyzing quirks w-w-was k-k-kind of always a hobby of mine." He started patting at his side as if looking for something before stilling mid-search. "Oh right, I took it out before going to follow Kacchan. I didn't want to let him near one after…" he trailed off, arm falling back to his side as a series of emotions flickering across his face too quickly to read before he said, "Well anyway, I wrote about One for All along with all of the other quirks I've analyzed."

"Are they all in that notebook I see you carrying around?" Shota asked.

Midoriya's face turned red again, "N-n-no… Th-they'd n-n-never f-f-f-fit. I-I'm on m-m-my eighteenth n-notebook. I've been writing for as long as I can remember. B-b-before I w-w-was even d-d-diagnosed quirkless. Although back then, it was just drawings, since I hadn't learned to write yet. I wrote the last f-four all after I started at UA. I called the series 'Hero Analysis for the Future', although the last few have several villains as well, since I had so many encounters with them, too. I also got to do extended profiles on people I spend a lot of time with: fighting styles, psychological profiles…."

Shota felt his jaw tighten. He didn't fail to notice how the boy's stutter disappeared and that excited shine came back to his eyes as he started talking about his quirk analyses. The man found himself recalling how, whenever his little notebook came out, Uraraka would get noticeably more nervous and Bakugou became more snappish than usual. It had been obvious that they'd been uncomfortable at the sight of it, but Shota had written off their discomfort. He wasn't about to discourage Midoriya's willingness to take a little extra initiative and write down what he learned from their lessons.

Now, with Midoriya happily laying out the fact that he had eighteen of the things, Shota had reason to suspect that their nervousness was justified.

Shota stood up and walked over to the counter across the room where they kept writing supplies. He grabbed a clip board with a pen and several sheets of paper. He removed the top few sheets, covered in notes related some plans Nemuri was working on for her classes and placed them on the counter. With the clipboard and clean sheets in hand, he walked back to Midoriya and held them and the pen out to the boy.

Midoriya took it, looking slightly nervous and extremely confused.

"I want an overview of your description of me," Shota declared. "You have five minutes."

"Are you sure?", Izuku asked as he pulled his knees up to place the clip board against it.

"I wouldn't have told you to do it if I felt otherwise."

"Okay then. It's just, no one ever really wanted to see what I write about them." Even before Midoriya had finished speaking, his pen started scratching away. As the boy worked, he lost focus on the world around him. He mumbled as he stared intently at the pages, which he filled at an alarming speed.

Shota fought the urge to pace as he stood and waited. He couldn't catch everything his student stated, but what he did set him on edge, although he made sure to keep that from reaching his features.

Midoriya clearly had no ill intent for the dangerous knowledge he possessed as he sat there, writing it out. If anything, he was just enjoying himself, the same way a small child might enjoy working on a coloring book. He had been released to work in his element, encouraged to show his interest for very possibly the first time in his entire life.

As Midoriya worked intently, each stroke of his pen made in full confidence, Shota realized how rare it was to see the boy look confident when there weren't high stakes that he had to overcome. Before now, it only seemed to be when he was trying to rescue someone or he was using his quirk to break his own body that he looked so sure of himself.

Hound Dog was going to have his hands full with this one. Not that Midoriya was the only student who had issues that he was going to be sending the man's way- not by a long shot.

"Time's up."

Midoriya sighed, looking a little disappointed that he had to finish. Still, he set his pen down and handed Shota the page and a half of combination of words and drawings. "Usually, I just take initial notes when everything is happening, since I need to keep track of everything else. At the end of the day, I sit down and spend more time analyzing what I saw earlier. I didn't get nearly as far as I wanted to with writing what I know about you. If I had more time, I could have wrote the full description."

Shota looked down at the paper. This kid. He really had no idea, did he? Just what he'd just shown himself to be capable of. "How's your memory for what you've written?"

Midoriya shrugged. "I can remember most of what I wrote over time in a general sense. I could definitely tell you who I wrote about in each book and a general overview of what I have on them, but still, a lot of my older notes could use some updates. As I said, no one really cares what I write and I've been rather busy, so I haven't gotten around to doing as much of that as I would like to."

Shota scanned the piece in front of him for a minute before he looked up at Midoriya. "Do you have all of the notebooks on site?"

Midoriya nodded. "I used a shelf in my room for them. They help me study, sometimes."

"They are to stay there for now. Do not walk around with them. Do not write in them. I will be around tomorrow evening to place them in a safe location."

Midoriya froze, paling before Shota's eyes. "W-w-what? Y-y-you're t-t-taking them?"

Shota sighed. "Only temporarily."

Midoriya seemed to relax slightly at this statement. "But why?"

"Because you learned how to collect vital information but you can't keep it safe. Everyone around you knows you carry them everywhere. What happens if one falls into a villain's hands and they decide to have a look?"

"Why would they do that?"

Shota silently reminded himself that this wasn't the time to focus on Midoriya's self-esteem issues. "The why isn't important right now. The notebooks exist; therefore, it can happen."

Midoriya looked shamefully at his hands. "I didn't mean to put anyone in danger. I was just trying to build my analytical skills."

"Midoriya, look at me."

Midoriya looked up, on the verge of crying again.

He turned the clip board so the boy could see his own notes. "I'm not upset. Analysis is good skill to have. You're rough, but your base method is incredible. The problem is, you took on a skill that is so critical that doing it incorrectly could put people in danger. I don't want you to stop, I want you to learn how to do this safely. I promise you that you will get your books back as soon as possible." Which, sadly, probably wouldn't be until he had a heroics office of his own where he could set up a secure location for them. "Until then, I'll make sure that they are safe and well cared for. And you will be allowed to have access to them whenever you need them."

"The l-l-last time s-someone else held o-o-one, th-th-they b-b-burned it a-and…" Midoriya swallowed, a faraway look entering his eyes and took a moment before continuing, "and threw it out a s-second s-s-story w-w-w-window and all I c-could do was watch. A-a-a-and y-y-you w-w-want all of-of th-them?" He was trembling now, crossing his arms across his chest.

Shota had a feeling he could name that someone. The fact that Midoriya had taken the book off his person before meeting up with Bakugou spoke for itself, considering he brought it everywhere, including today's exam. And from what the boy had told him, these notebooks basically his life's work.

Since when does a teenager have a life's work?

Shota stepped up to his student, placing his hand back on the boy's shoulder again and knelt so he was at eye level with the kid once more. "Midoriya, look at me."

The boy's eyes regained focus as he fearfully looked into Shota's eyes, jaw clenching.

"I won't let anything like that happen, ever."

Midoriya swallowed. "I-I kn-kn-know b-b-but isn't… isn't th-th-there s-some other way?"

Shota sighed, feeling his exhaustion more than ever. "If there was, I wouldn't do this."

Midoriya nodded and looked at his feet, on the verge of tears.

Shota laid the clipboard down on the table in front of them. He didn't want to slip into lecture mode right now, but he needed Midoriya to have some understanding of what was at stake. "Something you clearly understand is that information is important. You wouldn't put this much effort into collecting it if you didn't know that."

Midoriya nodded quietly as he looked down at the notes, face red and blotchy from shedding so many tears over the course of the night but Shota could see from the slight glow in his eyes his determination had returned…. And seeing the literal glow, he couldn't help but think of another pair of eyes, ones that never stopped glowing… sky blue ones in a sunken face. The teacher wondered what type of permanent effects this quirk might have, even beyond the crippling injuries inflicted when it was misused. Another thing to look into later. Joy.

For now, he just made another mental note and forced himself to focus on the topic at hand. "Information can take on many forms and can be used in many ways. Secrets are one of those forms. They can very powerful things. Everyone has them. Most only impact a few people but there are some that are much more extensive, more powerful and more dangerous, and the level of power a secret has can grow over time. For instance, if you took these notes on me before I trained to be a hero, they would only apply to me. Now though, the information on this paper has the potential to impact anyone I might try to fight or to save as a hero."

Midoriya looked down at the paper. Strengths, weaknesses, suggestions and speculations, interspersed with quick, basic drawings of Shota, hair standing up from using his quirk and his binding cloth most of which was represented by curved lines where Shota's neck would be except for a straight line to a quickly scribbled hand. All these which the boy had happily scratched out earlier now caused him to pale.

Shota hated scaring Midoriya but the kid needed to understand how serious this was. "People have done terrible things for secrets. I've seen men driven to madness, both by keeping and by learning them. Heroes have been ruined by some. Villains have tortured and killed people for others. People have also been hurt because of knowledge being kept when it should have been released. For instance, although Moon Fish had showed up with the League of Villains, there were no public announcements made about his escape."

Midoriya frowned. "You're right…. Why wouldn't they…?"

"My guess is that it was because it would be a major blow to the morale boost resulting from Stain's capture. And Moon Fish is only one example out of the Vanguard."

Midoriya frowned.

Shota tapped the paper and stated, "You've written down information right here that could be a threat to me if it ever fell into the wrong hands, but you have ideas that are useful to me as well. I don't think I'm really committed enough to cut my hair to hide my tell but I think I'll seriously consider binding it when I'm on duty, at least on patrol." It was a logical approach to dealing with the problem. He would leave it down at UA, though, as it helped draw attention, which he needed as a teacher trying to control a pack of kids with extremely powerful quirks. "And some of your other ideas here aren't half bad either. Am I right to assume you've done this with the other people you've written about?"

Midoriya smiled shyly as he said, "I started doing that with book four."

"Midoriya, in terms of information, I imagine that you've gathered more than most paid quirk analysts." Quirk analysts were crucial in this age of increasingly powerful and varied quirks. Many worked primarily to identify children's budding quirks, but others expanded their education so they could get into the hero industry, making a living on requests from hero agencies. They weren't cheap either.

"Based on what we've just discussed, what would you consider the most sensitive piece of information that you know and why?" Shota watched his student process the question.

After a moment Midoriya sagged in his seat, "One for All. It…it could affect more than heroes and villains. It would impact all of Japan. All Might's quirk being a transferrable power, one that originated with All for One and his family would cause- who knows what kind of reactions? And the implications of a quirk that is, by nature, transferrable could have implications on quirks as a whole. Especially now that it is known that quirks can be stolen and dispersed, thanks to All for One and the Nomu, even if that hasn't been shared with the public. It also suggests something separable about quirks from people. As major as quirks are in our lives, that could shake the whole world's view of them if presented in the wrong way."

Shota frowned. He'd expected Midoriya to bring up the public view of One for All and its implications. He had not even considered that it suggested about quirks a whole. Another thing to keep him up at night. It also spoke of just how much potential Midoriya had when it came to analytical skills.

Forcing such thoughts to the back of his mind with the rest of the rapidly growing set, Shota instead asked, "How far do you think a group like the League of Villains would go to find out the story behind that quirk if they got even a hint of its nature? I know that they weren't a problem that we knew of when you first got the quirk, but One for All's very existence was guaranteed to be of interest to your enemies. It probably also comes with a history full of enemies other than All for One who would be excited to know about its true nature. And then there are other groups to consider, too, that would be interested."

"I hadn't thought about any of that when I first got One for All. I still haven't thought about other villains being interested or possibility that All for One might not be the only enemy of One for All."

Shota could see the guilt in Midoriya's eyes. He hated that he had been the one to put it there. But he knew that this couldn't happen again, for any reason. So, he kept going. "From now on, you have to weigh how much danger someone knowing your secret puts them in along with how much damage not knowing will do to your relationship with them. I won't lie, there may be times where you have to choose between your continued relationship with someone and their safety." The boy's slow trickle of tears tore at his heart as he continued, trying not to show the pain outwardly. "I've been there. It's not fair and it's not easy but it's reality."

"Just another way the life isn't fair," Midoriya stated. As when he'd mumbled about it earlier, his tone spoke of a deeper understanding of the world's imbalances than most people had. Aizawa had a feeling that if he investigated the boy's childhood, he'd find plenty of reason for that unusual level of comprehension.

"Yes," Shota agreed, struggling to keep his own eyes from misting over for the student before him, "and sometimes, being logical about doing what's right hurts but it's better for everyone involved than making the emotionally driven choice."

Midoriya drew a ragged breath and said, "Not saying anything to Bakugou might have driven him off for good but it would have protected him." He balled his hands into fists in his lap. "I… I didn't think…."

"And why would you? No sane person would want to consider this sort of thing. Honestly, I'd prefer that you'd never had to. Some heroes don't. But that choice was taken when you were exposed to the quirk you now carry. So, I would rather you learn here, sitting in this room than in some incident out in the field, where you might realize it for yourself too late to save someone."

Midoriya was back to the verge of tears as he nodded, "Thank you, Aizawa Sensei. I won't forget and I'll be more careful from now on."

With three days under house arrest and several hours of Bakugou as his only company, Shota didn't doubt it. As terrible as tonight was turning out to be, in the long run, it would prove more crucial to both boys' development than almost anything they could learn in a classroom. It was certainly more important than the vast majority of the day-to-day lessons they covered in the actual hero course. And who knows how many lives would be saved from otherwise loose tongues.

* * *

 **In some stories and comments, I read about how dangerous Midoriya's notebooks could be and question why he doesn't dispose of them when it would be best for a situation. As someone who knows what it's like to put a lot of work into something they love doing, the thought makes me cringe. In the first chapter of the Manga, the biggest thing that seem to bring him happiness in the sea of misery that was the work he did in his Hero Analysis Notebooks. There is a heavy emotional attachment to them. I'm sure Bakugou knew exactly how much he was hurting Midoriya when he blasted it and threw it out the window. Despite how dangerous those notebooks are, they are also probably the most cared for items in his life, second in importance only to actual people.**

 **Next Chapter closes this conversation and sets up for Aizawa's talk with Yagi.**

 **It's funny to think that, when I started writing this, I thought the whole first night would take only five chapters to write. Now here I am at chapter 6.**


	7. Good Night

**Chapter 7: Good Night**

Even as Izuku promised Aizawa that he would be more careful with his secrets, doubts started creeping in. He thought about how he often spoke his thoughts aloud, how his books had been sitting out in the open all this time. And then there was the sports festival, where he had advertised his secret about One for All to anyone who might recognize it - not in words, but in actions. What else might he have done that he had not even have thought about? What might he still do? "Aizawa Sensei, what if I slip up and say something or do something important by accident?" Izuku asked. He clenched his fists in his lap, although the first two fingers of his right hand didn't quite close completely. "In one talk, you've already pointed out so much. What else am I missing? How can I avoid doing this again if I don't even know when I'm doing it?"

Aizawa gave him an unnerving, intense stare for several moments before he finally spoke. "I can teach you about secrets. Half of my job as an underground hero relates to information. The fact that you realize that there's difference between knowing that you have to keep a secret and understanding how to do it is promising in and of itself." He sighed. "Speaking of teaching you, that brings me to the next thing we need to discuss." The man glared at Izuku sternly as he continued, "UA's hero training is structured for students who've had years to learn to control their quirks, a structure that has already proved damaging to you."

Izuku couldn't even argue. Although the majority of his permanent injuries had been inflicted while fighting villains, not all of them were. And even discounting those, he'd broken so many bones in training that Recovery Girl was fed up with him.

Aizawa broke him out of his thoughts. "I'm a licensed quirk counselor. I was investigating a group and doing so led to several encounters with people who had altered, unstable quirks in the field. That experience helped me to understand how to approach them and encourage them to use what little control they still had." It had also been shortly after he'd completed this training that Nezu had tracked him down and 'invited' him to become a teacher at UA.

"The Trigger incidents?" Izuku asked, words leaving without even thinking about them.

The only thing that gave away Aizawa's surprise was a slight increase in his stern frown and a twitch of his fingers. "How did you know I was involved in that?"

"Well, I didn't know for sure but I suspected because of The Egg. I noticed the helicopter when the villain stopped using the exploding punches. It was through my research to find out what happened there that I first found out about you, actually. The incident got a lot of press coverage, due to all the heroes involved and the fight was one of the strangest I've ever seen. I got curious. Suspicious, really. As I said, I like to study quirks."

Izuku recalled his old analyses, ones he'd lost many hours to the research that had spawned from watching the news coverage and still ran through in his mind from time to time. There were still so many questions unanswered in relation to that fight and oh, how hard he'd worked to find the answers. He twirled his fingers to release the words bouncing around the inside of his head into the air, so as to relieve the building pressure of his thoughts, even if his words went unseen to the rest of the world.

But it wasn't as effective as he hoped, and certainly not as much as the words rolling off his tongue as he worked through a problem. And something like this, related to one of the biggest discoveries he'd had, working through this for the first time in several months? Staying silent was too much to ask. "Sometimes, you'll get people with similar quirks or a person with two quirks but multiple villains with the same flying and explosive quirks… especially explosive limbs that seem to regenerate themselves instantly combined with the capacity to generate more explosive villains like that. It got my attention. Not that I could do much since I could only work with what I could find on the internet and in the news. Too far away for foot work… I kept digging and I found out about the Trigger and mutated people around there. You'd be perfect for working with that."

Suddenly, Izuku mind started down another train of thought. One he was surprised it had taken him so long to consider. Then again, he'd been busy lately. He frowned and asked, "Aizawa Sensei? I know that the Trigger was enhancing the power of people's quirks. Were you ever able to shut that down? And if you did, were you able to destroy all the research for it?"

"That's classified," Aizawa stated immediately, his tone harsh.

Izuku steepled his hands over his nose. "Sensei, do you think that the quirk manipulation there could be linked to Nomu creation?" He found himself trembling as he remembered something he'd heard at Kamino Ward. "All for One told Best Jeanist he didn't get to steal quirks very often. I think he tried to stay in hiding since he was crippled. And I don't think he'd be inclined to take care of all those Nomu the League of Villains used, especially not by himself. Do you think the League had the resources or man power to catch, modify and tend to all the Nomu they used in Kamino Ward?"

Aizawa stood from his chair and looked out the window, his back to Izuku, "So, you've always had that knack for finding trouble. How did you even live long enough to reach UA?"

Izuku got up and quietly padded after his teacher, standing a few feet behind him and to the left, staring at the man's reflection on the glass. He wondered if the man could actually see anything out of it with the lights on. "No one cares about a quirkless weakling," Izuku stated offhandedly. He was tempted to say it almost wasn't enough but he didn't feel like talking about the slime villain right now. Besides, Izuku refused to be distracted by a not so subtle change in topic. "You've already thought of the Trigger and the Nomu, haven't you?"

"It's work for experienced heroes. All you should take away is that All for One has more backing him than he showed."

"The League isn't the only group All for One had," Izuku stated.

Aizawa nodded and sighed as he stared off into the lights in the distance or their reflections, Izuku couldn't be sure which. "If I find anything you need to know, I'll tell you but you are forbidden from investigating yourself, do you hear me? You will not be involved in anything related to the man in Tartarus's highest security vault. Not until I think you're ready. That includes the League of Villains, the possible link between the mutated villains at the Egg and the Nomu or anything else that might be out there." Aizawa's strong gaze caught Izuku's eyes in the reflection. "Do I make myself clear?" Aizawa radiated an air of menace, despite the deadpan tone with which he delivered his demand. Izuku trembled even as he nodded.

"Good," Aizawa stated, tension leaving his tone as he turned to face Izuku and leaned against the window. "What I was going to say before you mentioned the possible connection of the Nomu to the Trigger incidents was that I'll be setting up basic quirk training for you."

"What?"

"UA's system operates on the assumption that its students have had years to understand their quirks. The system already caused you to develop more than one poor habit. You need to learn the fundamentals of your quirk so you don't misuse your power again and injure yourself or those around you further. As I just explained, I'm trained and practiced in handling people with unfamiliar quirk. I also know you, Midoriya. I've watched you use your quirk, too. I can use that to help you learn to control your power properly."

Izuku stared at the man, unable to find his voice for a moment. It was one thing for his teacher to offer to adjust the curriculum for him, it was another entirely to offer step in as a personal quirk counselor. They took up primary responsibility for making sure their charges not only learned how to use their quirk but also how to function with them in society. It would be a large commitment of time and resources. Izuku found himself trembling and crying again, this time with happiness. "Y-you'd do that?"

"Of course."

"This… this isn't just because we need to keep my quirk secret, is it?"

Aizawa frowned and sighed. "No, although that is a part of it."

When his teacher wasn't pulling logical ruses, Izuku could always count on him to be brutally honest. Izuku took a deep breath….

"If that's an apology, I don't want it," Aizawa stated. "You have nothing to be sorry for."

Izuku took a few seconds to shut down the words he'd intended to vocalize before managing to just say, "Thank you."

Aizawa smirked. "I'm not sure you'll be so thankful once I get started. I'm not going to go easy on you. You're over a decade behind your classmates in experience when it comes to your quirk and there are several habits you have to unlearn. Combined with your regular schedule, it'll be grueling."

Izuku smiled at the declaration. "That's nothing new, Sensei. I spent my whole life knowing that if I was going to accomplish anything, I'd have to work harder than anyone else for it."

Aizawa actually smiled back. "Good. From now on, you will report to the TDL during your Monday, Wednesday and Friday study hours. I have other duties after school, so I can't do it then."

"Yes, Sensei! And I'll have those reports and my quirk analysis ready for you by the time my house arrest ends. I promise."

"And while we're on the topic of extra training, do you remember what I said when you commented about the odds stacked against me during the League's attack on the USJ?"

Izuku remembered vividly. "You said that a hero should have more than one trick." It had been incredible, watching him leap down the stairs toward their attackers after the statement.

Shota nodded. "Before All Might gave you his quirk, you were already planning on being a hero, despite being quirkless. You developed skills to make up for the lack of any quirk - ones that I'm familiar with. Suddenly getting an extremely powerful quirk is no excuse to let those abilities go to waste. I'll be making sure you train them, too." Even though Aizawa wasn't using his quirk, but Izuku could feel the pressure from his stern gaze.

"Really? You'd do that, too? Won't it be a ton of work for you?"

"I may not waste my time on anyone without a chance, but I also don't let good potential go to waste. You just admitted that your quirk makes you the greatest enemy of Japan's oldest villain. You may find yourself facing him or someone just as dangerous one day, and you'll need to use your full potential to stand against that."

The reminder of All for One placed a dampener on Izuku's growing excitement, but the determination he felt at the idea of preparing for whatever the villain might have set up simply shifted him to being more serious than happy about this. Because, whatever it was, Izuku had no doubt after Kamino Ward that lives would hang in the balance. "Please, teach me, Sensei. Help me, so I can save more people."

Some emotion flashed across Aizawa's features, too quickly or Izuku to be able to identify it, before he settled into a neutral expression and nodded. Then he stated, "One last thing; I'm going to reach out to your mother about arranging a meeting as soon as possible to discuss being registered officially as your quirk counselor, since I now know how new it is." Izuku was caught off guard by the statement but before he could comment, his teacher continued. "Despite what I just discussed with you about secrets, I want you to consider telling her. Not knowing could place her in more danger."

"You think so?"

"Yes." He looked like he had more in mind than just telling her, but Izuku knew that if the man thought he should know what, he'd tell him.

"I'll think about it."

"Good. Then it's best if you call it a night. It's been a long day."

Midoriya hesitated before stepping closer and asking, "Can I wait until All Might gets here? Please?"

Aizawa frowned and shook his head. "You are already out of the dorms well past curfew. Now that we are done, you need to head back."

Izuku wished there was something more he could say to Aizawa. The man had just done so much for him tonight and was about to do so much more. All he'd done in return was burden the erasure hero.

On top of that, Izuku wanted to let Aizawa know that, despite being upset that he'd have to hand over his notes, he held no bad feelings toward his teacher for it.

Surely, he could do something.

Izuku suddenly recalled the guilt Aizawa had expressed feeling earlier when talking to Kacchan and himself. And although he couldn't come up with a way to assuage all of it as he wanted to, after some time to think about it, there was one part he could put to rest. It wouldn't be much compared to everything his teacher was doing for him, but it was something. Not that he wouldn't do this anyway.

Rather than leave, as he had been ordered, he stepped forward and hugged his teacher again. "I'm glad you weren't at Kamino Ward."

"What?" Aizawa asked, recoiling as if he'd been burned, but Izuku didn't let go.

"All for One had a ton of physical mutation quirks. If you'd showed up, he would have probably just targeted you first. He might have even expected you to be there… he had to have planned for it. If any of the quirks keeping him alive could be shut off at a glance, you would've been a bigger threat to him than All Might. I don't know if you could have shut down all of his quirks at once but he probably wouldn't know either. That possibility would automatically make you the biggest threat to him in his condition. So, I'm glad you weren't there. Don't blame yourself for that. If anything, it probably threw off his plans."

With that, he tightened his hug briefly before releasing his teacher and rushing out the door, giving the teacher his personal space back.

* * *

Toshinori barely waited for the car to come to a stop before throwing the door open and giving a Tsukachi a couple quick parting words before he closed the door and took off through the gate. His friend had understood the moment that he'd told him about the text he'd gotten. As they'd driven, he'd asked if he should give Gran Torino the heads up about having two more people in on their secret. Toshinori had insisted he'd take care of it.

Later, after he talked with Aizawa. He didn't want to deal with the fury of more than one terrifying hero at a time, thank you very much.

Again, Toshinori found himself comparing his current state to how he would have been a short time ago. Before Kamino, upon receiving the text, he would have been able to reach the school in under a minute, only taking another half minute to reach the Teacher's Lounge because he wouldn't want to create a draft that would blow out windows on his way by or to put enough force behind his feet to crack tiles.

Now, Toshinori took almost three times that long just to cover the distance from the gate to the elevator. As he did so, his costume flapped awkwardly, matching his height but not his thin figure which was a far cry from the muscular form that the clothing was intended for. It hung limp from his body as he waited for the elevator doors to open. Entering, he leaned against the wall. There, he caught his breath so his raspy wheeze returned to something resembling normal breathing and he could get his bloody coughing under control. The spot where his stomach used to be throbbed in time with his heart.

As the retired hero stepped out, he was greeted by the sight of Midoriya walking toward the elevator from the direction of the teacher's lounge. The boy looked beat up - clothes torn, covered in scratches and scrapes, and bruises already starting to show up. His eyes were red, betraying the fact that he'd been crying again.

Then young Izuku looked at Toshinori in his costume and the smile that lit the boy's face erased any worries about the child's current state. It momentarily made All Might feel like he was standing at his full size, in prime condition, wearing his silver age suit and ready to take on anyone who dare inflict harm upon others.

Then Toshinori coughed into his hand, a familiar coppery taste filling his mouth and red flecking his hand and the moment was shattered. He was a weak, wounded old quirkless man again, clock ticking down on his life, come to find out how far the most important secret he ever shared with his successor had leaked in the latest spill.

It also seemed to break the spell for young Midoriya, who bit his lip as his shoulders sank. The boy was exhausted, Toshinori realized. And after the day he'd had, he had every right. "Sorry, All Might. Kacchan figured it out and Aizawa saw our fight."

Toshinori placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "It's okay. Whatever happens, we'll figure this out. I promise."

Izuku smiled sadly and stated, "Aizawa is going to help."

This didn't surprise Toshinori, and he was glad for Midoriya's sake. If there was one positive thing about Aizawa knowing about One for All, it was the certainty that he would do everything he could to help the boy with it.

"You should head back to the dorm. We can talk during lunch tomorrow."

"Only if you're coming to the dorm. Kacchan and I are under house arrest."

"I'm sorry."

Izuku frowned thoughtfully, "I know this kind of sounds weird but…I'm not. I think I'm glad that tonight happened. Kacchan and I worked out a lot of our issues and Aizawa is going to help with One for All." The thoughtfulness transformed to worry and guilt "I think he might be angry with you though. I'm sorry about that."

Toshinori smiled comfortingly and said, "I'll be okay." Maybe. In all honesty, Toshinori wasn't the least bit surprised. He knew his teaching skills had been lacking up to this point. There was plenty to criticize but Young Midoriya didn't need to see how scared he was right now.

Midoriya seemed to settle with Toshinori's calming tone. He smiled tiredly.

"Go on then, it's already late."

Midoriya nodded and pressed the button, stepping through the doors that opened almost immediately for him.

Toshinori continued to watch with a smile until the doors slid shut. Once the child was out of sight, the man's smile disappeared. He looked back down the hallway, feeling more like a child being sent to the principal's office for discipline than a teacher going to speak with a colleague.

* * *

 **Yay! I made it to the end of the conversation between Izuku and Aizawa. There may be a longer gap between this chapter and the next set of them. I'm still working out the upcoming conversation.**

 **As you can see above, I'm following The Vigilante spinoff. I will be making references to it from time to time and may occasionally bring in a character from it. It seemed unlikely that the attack of the Egg wouldn't make National/International news. It seems less likely that Midoriya wouldn't notice something was up with the quirks the villains were using, even if he couldn't see the events in person.**

 **I also think that Aizawa must have drawn a connection between the Villain Factory and the Nomu but would keep field work separate from school work.**

 **No promises on whether or not Izuku might mess up that attempt to keep them separate.**


	8. Reflection and Confrontation

**Chapter 8: Hard Reality**

As the door clicked into place behind Midoriya, Shota continued to stare at it as if he were watching his student walk down the hall with an x-ray vision quirk. A ghosting sensation from the boy's final hug lingered across his skin as his parting words for the night echoed through the man's mind.

Shota hadn't understood why he wouldn't be allowed to enter a battle against a villain who operated on a system of quirks, especially with his own quirk at his disposal. He should have been able to recall the Nomu from the USJ and instantly known his answer. It should have been obvious. Normally, it would have been.

The problem was that he hadn't been thinking clearly, even if he would have denied it at the time. Of course he hadn't been; several students had been injured and one kidnapped on his watch. He was emotionally compromised, and was lying to himself about it. That in and of itself was another reason to be kept away from the battlefield.

Still, amidst the turmoil of what was probably one of the most mentally and emotionally taxing nights of his life, Midoriya had somehow cut through his own stress to see his problem and point out what now seems obvious. Of course, now he could see that Midoriya had a habit of putting his own issues on the backburner to help others. An unhealthy practice that, ironically, might have helped him survive when standing against all the villains he'd faced so far. After all, whenever Shota had crossed paths with Midoriya during the villain attacks, he'd been busy trying to help one person or another.

Shota worried about just how many of the techniques Midoriya utilized that helped him survive the villains could be linked to being put through a lifetime of abuse as a quirkless child. He was aware that the statistics for people without quirks were bleak. The teacher was sure that the reports he'd assigned his student would give him an uncomfortable starting point for his answer.

But clearly, not everything Midoriya had learned was from negative experiences. Shota was good at examining situation, but that was out of necessity, rather than pleasure. He could count the number of people who got as happy running analysis as Midoriya on just one hand. And the first to come to mind wasn't even human.

Nezu must have kept him back for the same reason Midoriya just stated.

Midoriya and Nezu thinking along the same lines. Now there's a scary thought.

Aizawa picked up the clipboard with Midoriya's notes again and frowned as he studied them. Midoriya's potential couldn't be denied. Not after what he'd seen tonight. The boy had the capacity to become a force to reckon with even without considering his quirk. He would have to introduce the kid to the Principal of UA if he was going to reach his full potential. Since he had inherited One for All.

And now that Shota was aware of what Midoriya was working against, he knew that the boy would need to tap into every ounce of it in order to survive. Nezu was first on his list of people to plan that with, cruel as it might be to expose the kid directly to him.

A part of his mind whispered that Midoriya would still probably die young if he continued on his path - the part he'd honed to turn away emotions and look at the situation logically. It was important to acknowledge the odds. He needed to look at the situation realistically in order to learn how to approach it.

That didn't make recognizing the truth any easier.

Of course, there was no other choice for Midoriya than to press forward now. The possession of One for All guaranteed that he would either beat all of those odds or die. And if he did, it would likely be a horrendous end.

And All Might's approach to dealing with his student had lowered his already slim chances further.

Shota came to a realization as he sat alone in the teacher's lounge, staring down at a clipboard covered in notes resting on a coffee table with nothing but the slight hum from the lights to break the silence. A revelation that punched him with a force comparable to a blow from the Nomu at the USJ. He had stepped out earlier to stop a scuffle between a couple students, and now he had planted his foot firmly onto the battlefield of a two-century-old war against the most powerful Villain in all of Japan. And the central figure of this fight for the next generation had been slipped into his care without him even knowing it.

Yay him.

Shota almost envied Midoriya's absolute cluelessness as to how deep into a hole he'd been dragged by All Might when the man offered his quirk and how much further he'd dug himself in by saying 'yes.'

A naïveté Shota had taken the first steps in dismantling tonight. Although it should have happened long before now, he noted with annoyance. It shouldn't be his job to walk the kid through something that should have been covered somewhere around day one.

It should have been All Might's, and Shota was about to tell him just that.

Shota took a deep breath as he reminded himself that he needed to keep a reign on his emotions. He had to stay calm, because lashing out would solve nothing. Still, he unbound his hair. He intended to use the full intimidation effect of using his quirk and the bun prevented that. It was the logical choice for driving the points across to All Might. If it happened to allow him to better express the anger he was restraining, that was an added bonus.

He had to keep his mind clear, so that he didn't make this about how he felt. It was about what was best for Midoriya. His student, who had a quirk his body couldn't handle and a target on his back that the monster from Kamino Ward would try to hit as hard as he could if given half a chance.

And Shota wasn't about to forget the demonstration of just how heavy his blows were.

Closing his eyes, Shota saw the footage of the villain floating above an already devastated Ward, pumping his arm full of quirks until it was swollen and distended, secondary limbs covered in heavy plating and corkscrewing spikes rising from the mass. Then he had used the engorged, disfigured mass to stand off against the Number One Hero. Now, the demonstration of power gained the added weight of knowledge that this was a two-hundred-year-old man. An ancient who had managed not only to survive in the villainous underground but rule over that deadly, cutthroat corner of society for the majority of his existence. Such a feat would take both cunning and ruthlessness the likes of which made Shota's blood run cold to even consider.

That was the type of force that Midoriya was expected be capable of facing off against one day? No matter how strong or smart the boy became, he shouldn't have to deal with that kind of expectation of him.

Of course, that was assuming One for All didn't destroy Midoriya first. Seeing what it had taken for him to figure out the management of what little of the power he could, it looked like a real possibility, too.

Shota frowned. What should or shouldn't be is just another cry for fairness. A pointless notion. This was what Midoriya's situation was. He should just be thankful that he knew now and could help prepare his student. There was no pulling the boy out of it.

And who put Midoriya in this damn position and framed it as a gift?

Shota unclenched his fists and relaxed his jaw. He needed to calm down.

Shota heard the footsteps. He'd only heard the ding of the elevator down the hall once a minute ago, so either someone had taken the stairs or Midoriya and All Might had met at the elevators and talked for a couple minutes.

The steps stopped just outside of the room and instead of the knob turning and the door swinging open, there was a silent stillness. So, clearly All Might had at least some idea what was coming.

Shota waited as the seconds ticked by. After what felt like an eternity but was probably in reality not even thirty seconds, he stood up, intent on opening the door and yanking the man he knew was hesitating on the other side through the doorway by his shirt. As he rose, he placed the clipboard he'd still been absentmindedly holding. 'Better to remove the temptation to slam the other man over the head with it,' he only half joked to himself grimly as he crossed the room. He activated his quirk, planning to set the tone of their little chat from the start.

He'd only made it halfway across the room when the knob he'd been watching so intently finally turned.

The door opened to reveal Yagi Toshinori. The retired hero was adorned in a familiar costume, although Shota had never seen the usually close-fitting outfit hang so limply. Two strands of hair that once were almost constantly defying gravity under the effects of a quirk gifted to this man from another hung limply before a gaunt face and recessed eyes.

The retired hero stood grim faced, guilt and exhaustion written clearly across every line of his face. He also had the look of someone who had had a long, frustrating day and was bracing himself for the next thing it had to throw at him, even if he tried to hide it.

Shota knew that look because he had been there too many times, himself.

Damn it, the man wasn't supposed to strike a chord of sympathy in him like that. Especially when he was so pissed at him. Still, Shota deactivated his quirk. He couldn't let his emotions get the better of him right now.

Still, it might prove to be what he needed to balance out his temper and keep things neutral.

Maybe.

Midoriya's comment about All Might telling him not to cry crossed Shota's mind as he reconsidered that.

'Maybe not' he thought as he made eye contact with the other man.

But he'd try his best.

Plus Ultra.

* * *

Bracing himself for Eraser Head's wrath, Toshinori finally opened the door. He was immediately greeted by the sight of the man standing in the middle of the room, minus his capture equipment, eyes aglow and dark locks reaching for the ceiling. Even without feeling the effects of erasure, it was still intimidating.

Eraser had every right to be angry, too. Toshinori didn't need to be there for the conversation that Young Midoriya and the Erasure hero had just finished to know that. He waited for the other man to begin.

Instead, after a moment the glow dimmed and the teacher's hair surrendered to gravity. They silently stared at each other.

Toshinori grimaced before stepping through the doorway and greeting his coworker. "Hello Eraser Head. How are Bakugou and Midoriya?"

"They're a couple of wrecks." Eraser's eyes reignited even as the man replied by asking in an almost level tone, "Do you have any idea how much you fucked up and how it's made things worse? Especially for Midoriya?"

"I know that I could have done better," Toshinori replied, closing the door behind him.

"Could have done better?" Aizawa echoed, disbelievingly. "You failed Midoriya as a teacher, a role model and a protector." Despite not raising his voice, the fury seeped through every word. "And he had to pay the price for it. Bakugou as well, since now he's been dragged into this mess because you didn't stress the importance to Midoriya of keeping secrets despite knowing about One for All for almost a year beforehand."

All Might flinched and took a step back, as if the words had physically struck him.

"And you just admitted that you knew that you were messing up. Did it occur to you even once to get help for someone with actual experience with children or were you just so arrogant that you assumed you could handle it yourself? No matter how many times you noticed your mistakes." There was no misinterpreting the bitterness in the last part of his statement. "Heck, even if you didn't want to say the truth, I'm sure that you could have cooked up some story about his quirk activating after reaching some threshold during physical training. Then you could have at least truthfully told us just how new he was to his quirk."

That was actually a good idea. "Would you have accepted him for the hero course?"

"Oh, I would have fought tooth and nail to have him transferred straight to Gen Ed, with good reason. I would have seen to it that he'd gotten quirk counselling. But what's a year lost when compared to being so badly injured that he'll be at risk of losing use of his arms with a couple more misuses of his quirk? He'll probably be able to give a weather report based on the ache of his bones for the rest of his life anyway."

Toshinori grimaced and grit his teeth before stating, "He's got a handle on it now."

"Yeah, he graduated to a total of 8% of it tonight while fighting Bakugou. Good for him." Aizawa replied, voice caustic with sarcasm. "How many broken bones did that take? How many permanent injuries?"

"Not all of them could be helped." These were clearly the wrong words to say.

"But a lot of them could've been," Aizawa countered. "And how many more do you think he'd gain learning how to handle the twelve to thirteen times as much power that he hasn't accessed yet?"

"I know I should have talked to him about moderation."

"Someone sure should have," Aizawa said in a quiet tone. Toshinori suspected that Aizawa was aiming those words at himself as much as All Might.

"You shouldn't blame yourself," Toshinori stated. "You didn't know…"

"I recognized his lack of control over his quirk, even if I didn't know the reason. I should have made it a higher priority." He shook his head.

Toshinori took a step toward the younger man, intending to comfort him. To tell him he shouldn't blame himself.

Before Toshinori could, Eraser Head returned his focus to him. "I've made mistakes, I've accepted that and will have to live with it. But you've made so many more." He glared at Toshinori and added, "All the ones that I've brought up are ones you're aware of. After talking with Midoriya just once, I was amazed at how many more there have been, several of which I doubt you've even noticed."

"Tell me then, please."

"Oh, I intend to. And I won't be holding back."


	9. A Frustrating Conversation

**Chapter 9: A Frustrating Discussion**

At Eraser's declaration that he wouldn't hold back, Toshinori replied, "I know. I would expect no less from you." These last few months working with Aizawa had shown him that.

Eraser Head nodded once then got right into it, his gaze cold as ice. "Then how about I start with how you first presented One for All to Midoriya?"

Toshinori frowned, he wondered what Midoriya might have said about it to get Eraser Head's attention. "What about it?"

"You offered him a life changing power like a back-alley dealer pushing trigger!"

All Might was shocked by the stinging words. "How could you compare me to…?"

"Someone taking advantage of the hopes of a desperate, scared teenager who doubted he had a chance in the world?" Shota clenched his teeth before adding, "You found a quirkless boy and said, 'I can give you a quirk, then you can be a hero'. Tell me that doesn't sound shady as fuck! And, lucky you, there was no chance of logic kicking in for the kid. Because it was his biggest hero standing before him offering a chance to make his dreams come true, and there were no other adults around to call him back to reality."

Toshinori felt his nonexistent stomach churn at the comparison. Phrased that way, it sounded just like something that…that All for One would…

Shota's grimace became a snarl as he continued. "And to build on that comparison, let's add the fact that you also failed to properly warn him about the consequences that came with that quirk before letting him use it. Like how it would shatter his bones on the first use, as well as the next ten!"

Toshinori was sure his face must be turning pale. To be fair, although he knew the quirk would hurt Midoriya, he'd been surprised by the extent of the damage done that first time. After all, he'd never gotten complex breaks, mostly hairline fractures and a couple clean breaks with his first punch. So, while he'd expected Midoriya to get worse from the first-time kickback, he hadn't expected it to be that bad.

"You rush-trained his body, handed him your quirk and told him to run off to the Entrance Exam, with a power infamous for blowing off users' limbs." He clenched his fists as he added, "He also told me about his 'Egg in the Microwave' analogy for how it worked on his body."

"It was an unusual description for it," All Might reflected.

"It paints enough of a visual for me. Have you ever seen an egg exploding in a microwave?"

"No…."

Shota pointed toward the door over Toshinori's shoulder. "Shall we go down to the kitchen and use one from Lunch Rush's stock to find out?"

Toshinori bit his lip and looked down as he folded his arms over his chest.

"That's his _body_ he'd talked about blowing up from inside!" Eraser nearly shouted. "Even now, he's holding himself together by equalizing that pressure across his whole body, meaning every part of him is so filled with that explosive energy that it has nowhere else to go. Does that sound _stable_ to you? Does it sound like a sustainable approach for him to use for _the_ _rest of his life_?"

Still looking down, Toshinori clenched his right fist, in sympathy to the first thing Midoriya damaged to the point that even Recovery Girl couldn't completely fix it. "Not really."

"No, it doesn't," Eraser agreed. "And those are only the physical risks. It's not even considering the trouble One for All would draw to him."

"All for One," All Might bit out.

"Along with any other enemies who might know about it. But yes, primarily All for One."

"I thought he was dead."

"And you didn't think that over the course of two centuries, he might have a made contingency plan in case of his death?"

"No," All Might responded, for once confident in his answer, "He didn't think he could die."

"And guess what, last I checked, he's still breathing. He hasn't been proven wrong, yet."

"I know that now. I underestimated him. But I figured there was no point in worrying Midoriya about something that was in the past. Besides, One for All would have shown him, eventually."

Eraser Head's face paled but otherwise became an unreadable mask as he crossed his arms and asked, "What do you mean, 'One for All would have shown him'?"

"One for All shows memories of the first user, related to the formation of the quirk."

Eraser stood there for a moment, with a look on his face reminiscent of the one he'd given the reporter who'd questioned Bakugou's devotion to heroics during the distraction press conference. Finally, he asked, in a tone just as cold and collected, "I don't suppose you mentioned that to Midoriya, did you?"

"No, he'll find out about it sometime in the next few months, I'm sure. Sort of like how he learned that in some situations, the forms of previous users can become visible."

Eraser's eyes widened and his hands fell to his sides, twitching slightly. "When did this happen?"

"During the tournament. Midoriya thought it was the souls of past users that helped free him from young Shinsou's quirk during their match. I assured him that was ridiculous, since he saw me among them. He just found the inspiration when he saw their forms and used One for All to break the mind control. I've seen them once, myself. He just overreacted."

Aizawa was unreadable, fists clenched at his side as he asked, "You sure about that?"

Toshinori raised an eyebrow, "are you really suggesting Midoriya actually saw ghosts?"

Rather than respond, Eraser looked up toward the ceiling, and more specifically, a speaker recessed into it, mouthing something Toshinori couldn't make out.

"And what about me?" Toshinori added jokingly. "I may have one foot in the grave but I'm not dead yet, you know. He saw me there, too."

Eraser Head refocused on All Might, for a moment, and he stood there thoughtfully. "It might explain why you can use One for All after passing it on. Because it might not have let you go."

"You can't seriously be suggesting-"

"That the sibling power to a quirk which hoards quirks could be a soul stealing one? The stock piling quirk Midoriya told me makes up part of it has been responding to an increase in something every generation, All Might? And even if you're right, it still means that those 'forms' can still interact with current users, even if just as hallucinations." Eraser Head didn't look like he believed that explanation. Toshinori was surprised that a man known for logic would entertain Midoriya's idea like this.

Toshinori was jarred from this line of thought as Eraser grabbed a clipboard from the table in front of the couch on the far side of the room and walked toward All Might. "Still, considering that Midoriya was the one who was there, I'll take his word over yours. Especially after seeing his 'nonsense'." With that, he shoved the clipboard into All Might's chest, leaving him to fumble for it, rustling the papers held by the clip as he did so.

By the time Toshinori was able to get a solid grip and look at the sheets on it, Eraser Head had already sat down on the couch, glaring from where he was seated.

Toshinori instantly recognized Midoriya's hand writing and sketches, although these were slightly messier than his usual work. It was an analysis of Eraser Head's quirk, he realized. He stared at it. His absentee stomach somehow managing flutter at the sight.

As if sensing this, Eraser asked, "Does his writing make you uncomfortable? Does it bother you, All Might?"

"He _can_ get a little obsessive with it. It's eerie to hear him talk about it, sometimes."

"If he's good enough at collecting information to make the Number One Hero nervous at a glance, maybe it deserved more attention, All Might. He has a talent: a useful one. If he has any notions about that quirk, you can't afford to just write it off."

Toshinori stared at the paper. "One for All isn't All for One, it's not…."

"Evil?" Eraser inserted in an accusatory tone, causing Toshinori to flinch. "You, of all people should know better than to view a quirk as good or bad. You've been fighting a war with a man so long you can't separate his quirk from him and that because One for All is the main weapon wielded against him, that makes it 'good'. You've viewed the quirks with a bias."

Toshinori frowned as he grasped the clipboard with both hands, unable to deny the accusation. All for One, both man and quirk, was evil in his eyes.

The homeroom teacher continued. "How you can afford to ignore all the things going on with it, I have no idea. Even what you've said implies that at the very least, you passed him a quirk with some parts that you confirmed can definitely interact directly with a current user's mind."

Toshinori frowned, mulling over what Eraser Head had just said. He was still processing the other man's words, so he almost missed the other hero's eyes widening, as if he had some sort of epiphany. "I wonder how deeply…?" Eraser didn't complete his thought aloud, frowning instead and falling into thoughtful silence for a moment, looking past the retired hero rather than at him.

Toshinori was about to ask what when the moment passed and Eraser regained focus, his features regaining neutrality. There was a slight shift in the younger man's demeanor as he returned to the conversation. "I really don't care what you think, seeing as, no matter the reason, you're completely compromised with One-for-All-related matters. The fact that Midoriya even got to participate in the tournament is proof of that."

"What are you…?"

"You get a sign that All for One might still be alive, thanks to the USJ attack, and what do you do? Well, certainly not tell Midoriya about him, since you're willing to let a quirk seep into his mind and play a surprise movie on the topic at some point sooner or later. Oh, how about throwing the kid out on international television to advertise both his possession of One for All and his lack of control over it? Did you think All for One wouldn't watch?! If the first day of class wasn't the time to tell me, then just _before_ the tournament _was_. We could have pulled him aside and hid him from that monster. Instead, you did everything short of placing a billboard over Midoriya's head to advertise it!'"

Toshinori felt like his insides had frozen. Was it his fault that All for One had found young Midoriya? By encouraging him to announce his presence during the tournament? Obviously, All for One would be waiting for the next user to exclaim, 'I am here!' And oh, how proud Toshinori had been of the way his student had fought to make his declaration.

His performance might not have been so great that most of the world took notice, but it certainly would have been enough to draw the attention of anyone who knew what to look for in an inheritor of One for All.

What had Toshinori done?

But Eraser Head wasn't done ripping his heart out. "Midoriya pointed out that the internship afterward would have been a good time for All for One to make his move, too. Hours of travel by himself to reach a lone retired hero and apparently hours of the problem child training alone at night while said elderly hero slept."

All Might felt himself trembling and shakily sank down into a chair perpendicular to the couch that Shota now occupied. That was right. Everyone knew about UA's post-tournament internships. Midoriya would have been completely exposed on multiple occasions during that time. On top of that, while Gran Torino, All Might's sensei, was a fearsome hero in his own right, he was certainly no match for All for One, or an army of Nomu.

If All for One had wanted to get his hands on young Midoriya, he could have.

Easily.

The thought of Midoriya in All for One's grasp, no knowledge of just who the monster even was made his remaining innards churn.

* * *

 **I hope I am doing this well.**

 **I was having trouble trying to write Aizawa extremely angry but still trying to maintain a level head, as he would try to do. This is the guy who kept his cool in the USJ, first facing dozens of villains, then getting his arm decayed by Shigaraki and still coming through after the Nomu got him enough to save students Shigaraki was attacking. He also kept his cool at the press conference after the training camp, with several injured students and one kidnapped. Said kidnapped student was being slandered by a journalist. He does not lose his cool in the normal sense. He can get angry, but he doesn't blow his top, ever. It's a hard kind to figure out how to write. Also, if you are curious about his reaction when All Might talked about Izuku seeing past OFA users, there's an arc that just recently finished up on My Hero Academia: Vigilantes, with chapters 63-64 having the specific event that caused me to write in that reaction. At this point, Aizawa wouldn't know about the revelation within the recent Boko No My Hero Academia Manga (Chapter 253). So, although logically, he would probably know that the idea of ghosts would seem ridiculous, I think that on a certain level, Aizawa wouldn't be able to shake the idea after his experience.**

 **For anyone who doesn't know, a complex break is a reference to bone breaks into multiple pieces and the tissue around it also gets damaged. Gan Torino stated that All Might took to One for All pretty easily but All Might seemed familiar with the type of damage the quirk could do to the body. So, I'd like to think that he did have some issues with it in the beginning, but nothing someone with access to a healing quirk could fix (we don't know how long Recovery Girl has known about OFA).**

 **All Might may have also been able to train his body up more easily than Izuku, who was always more brain than brawn. Izuku has to work hard to build up his muscle mass and it's a daily struggle and might not even be as built for supporting those muscles (although, since this is a Shonen Manga, he'll reach that level of strength one day, anyway).**

 **I also feel like I skimped on Bakugou's issues some but Izuku was the priority at this point and I just couldn't find a reasonable point to fit him into this conversation. I haven't forgotten him, though.**

 **Also, when Izuku compared One for All's effect on his body to microwaving an egg, I vehemently disagreed with All Might's opinion about the description being underwhelming. And this was in major part due to a childhood experience I had.**

 **When I was younger, for Easter, my family had a bit of a tradition that we would do each year. We would hard-boil eggs, and paint them the night before, then my parents hid them in the morning for us to find. Later, we'd peel the shells off and eat them.**

 **One year, we found out that the eggs weren't hardboiled enough, so we had the brilliant idea to put them in the microwave to see if they would finish boiling that way. We were startled by a loud bang. We were lucky to still have a functional microwave after that.**

 **If you're curious, put 'eggs exploding in a microwave' into the search bar on YouTube, There's plenty of videos.**

 **I always laughed when I looked back on it…until I got to the point in the anime where Izuku gave this description. I was horrified to think of him going through that. It also made it disturbingly easy to picture the internal explosions description for the state of his arms after facing Muscular.**

 **Next Chapter will be the end of this confrontation.**


	10. Hard Reality

**Chapter 10: Hard Reality**

After a moment, All Might began saying, "maybe he was just too busy during the internships and…"

Shota grit his teeth and leaned forward as he asked, "You sure you want to go with denial? It's done you no favors so far."

All Might fell silent and stared down at his lap. Good. Denial was one of the biggest things that had screwed Midoriya over in relation to this man. "But you didn't just put your student in physical danger. Midoriya's been hiding it but he has several emotional and psychological issues that he's probably carried for years and you've been feeding them."

"What are you talking about? Midoriya's a touch shy and a bit of a crier but he's usually able to brighten a room with a smile wherever he goes."

"Yeah, so long as he isn't focusing on himself. Tell me, as well as you know Midoriya, were you aware that Bakugou was his childhood bully?"

"What? That can't be right. They're just rivals, aren't they?"

"See, not even you know what's going on with that kid. I caught a glimpse tonight." His mind wandered back to the pain filled start of their conversation and several moments as it progressed, "It's dark, All Might. Midoriya has a list of mental scars a mile long."

"Surely he would have said something," All Might sounded hurt by the idea of Midoriya hiding his suffering from him. Shota supposed he would be too, if he was as close as they were.

"Maybe if you'd tell him it was alright to show how he felt to you, he would have opened up." Shota snapped.

"I've always been supportive of him."

"As long as he's not crying or using his head."

There was a moment of silence in which All Might's features first expressed concentration but which soon shifted to frustration and self-disgust. " _Fuck!_ " All Might exclaimed in English.

"You know, for all your claims of wanting Midoriya to find his own way, you sure have an interesting way of encouraging it."

"I've really messed this up, haven't I?" All Might asked miserably curling and uncurling his hands in his lap, scrunching and wrinkling the loose fabric of his suit in them as he did so.

Shota felt his energy draining out. The whole day was finally catching up with him. And All Might's grim acceptance of his mistakes was soothing the anger that helped keep him going. "Yes, you have. And I'm sure as hell not doing damage control alone."

"You're not going to tell me to stay away from him?" All Might asked, surprised.

"No. I want to help Midoriya, not punish you. He needs you. But from now on, anything you do with him, you will discuss with me, beforehand and after if possible. You don't have a right to make unchecked decisions for him after all the damage you've done."

"Alright." All Might quietly replied in acceptance, looked broken in that moment. Then he hid the emotions behind grim determination, "what now?"

Shota sighed and said, "I question you. And first things first. Who else knows about One for All?"

All Might doesn't hesitate for a moment. **"** Nezu, Recovery Girl, Naosama, Soka-Gran Torino and Sir Night Eye."

Shota had suspected that Nezu knew, but Recovery Girl, too? And neither of them felt inclined to tell him about Midoriya? That he was receiving a previously quirkless child, now burdened with a self-destructive quirk and tasked with protecting society from the most powerful villain in Japan and whatever legacy he left behind? What right did they have to withhold that from him?

What right did they even have to do that to a kid?

Shota felt a headache coming on. Whether it was from this situation or just sheer exhaustion, he couldn't say. Most likely, it was both. He began rubbing his temples as he said, "you realize that, including Midoriya, Bakugou, you and I, that means Nine people know about One for All. And that's not even accounting for anyone that All for One might have told, although he's probably been more discrete."

All Might bit his lip, "It's going to be hard to keep it quiet now."

Shota frowned and stated, "there's a couple sayings I've learned on the job. One is that if more than three people know a secret, it's not a secret anymore."

"You said a couple. That was only one. Is the other more encouraging?"

"Hardly," Shota declared a smirk forming momentarily before becoming a snarl. "Experienced villains tend to prefer the saying, 'Three people can keep a secret if two of them are dead.' As brutal as it is, it's the more effective view. Either way, my point is that your 'secret' is going to leak sooner or later." More likely flood out all over the place leaving a gigantic mess in its wake, but he didn't feel like going through the trouble of painting that picture right now. The night was long enough and Shota wasn't going out of his way to stretch it out further. "It's gotten too far to keep."

"We'll think of something."

Shota didn't believe it for a second but also knew there was no point arguing over it with his overly optimistic coworker.

Shota was very careful about how he worded his next question. If his newest concerns for the quirk he'd learned about this evening were right, one wrong word could shut All Might down. "I also want to know about your experience with One for All, including all of your 'minor' experiences. "You need to tell me about any changes the quirk might have caused to you over time. I need to have an idea so that we can set some expectations for Midoriya. Information you might be able give about previous users would be useful, too. Not just your body, but your natural quirk."

All Might frowned and squeezed fabric between his fingers again before saying, "I don't have a natural one."

"Your quirkless, too? Is this some requirement for One for All or…"?

"No, I know that my predecessor had one."

"But neither you or Midoriya."

All Might nodded.

Shota frowned as he studied the man. "Then why are your eyes glowing."

"the remnants of One for All that still burn in me, I suppose." He momentarily grew to his more familiar form, only to release it just as quickly in a puff of steam and a wet cough, that left a splash of red on his lips. As he reached into his pocket, he added, "Or the overflow from the quirk if your idea is right." The second part was added with no small amount of skepticism. After a moment he pulled out a tissue and dabbed his lips before getting up to throw it into a trash can next to the coffee machine.

All Might's statement didn't help to calm a suspicion Shota was developing about One for All. He'd mentioned the possibility of sentience and perhaps even soul stealing but these weren't the only issues with the Quirk. There was no telling how far the mental influence of it ran. Shota would be placing these concerns fairly high on the 'things to think about while lying in bed and staring at the ceiling tonight' list.

Hopefully by the time he was ready to talk to Nezu, he'd have his thoughts straight. Then they could find an approach for this properly.

"I also want to learn about anything you know about All for One. I want to prepare Midoriya. I need to know what he's going up against beyond 'Biggest, Baddest Villain of Japan for the last two centuries.'"

"He's already locked up."

"He doesn't need to be free for his plans to be in motion," Shota replied. "Shigaraki is proof of that."

"Shigaraki, right." There was something in the way All Might said it that worried Shota. There was none of the burning hatred he'd previously held for the villain.

"What's wrong?"

All Might stared at him in thoughtful melancholy before saying, "My predecessor I mentioned earlier? Her name was Nana Shimura. She was like a mother to me. During our fight in Kamino, All for One told me that Tomura Shigaraki's true name was Tenko Shimura. He's her grandson."

Shota felt a wave of horror and disgust. That one statement told Shota so many things. That All for One was not above psychological warfare, that anyone close to the people who get his attention are also targets. That Shigaraki is either clueless to his past or so brainwashed that he doesn't care. But, most importantly for this moment, "You're emotionally compromised when it comes to the League of Villain's. You realize that, right?"

"Don't worry, I won't let my emotions control me."

"Since when? Not even on your best day can you think without putting emotions first. It's why you were late and burned out before you got to work when you were supposed to be at the USJ. It's part of why your students are suffering. On the other hand, it's also why you're so clearly bothered by what I'm saying right now. Either way, you can't expect me to believe that a man who you despise, revealed to be the grandson of someone you love so much won't compromise you just by being present. And Shigaraki won't hesitate to attack you, either. He's hates you and Midoriya both."

"I won't let him kill us," All Might stated with a deep conviction, his eyes glowing with in an intense manner from their dark recesses, sending a shiver down Shota's spine. The man clearly believed his own words.

But Shota was afraid that the retired hero would still try to do something to reach out to Shigaraki. Even if the twisted man had already made several attempts to kill not only All Might but also harm anyone he could reach that might get a reaction from the hero.

All for One's choice to take the grandson of All Might's predecessor and turn him into a monster also served as further proof of something Shota already guessed; that there was no line that the ancient villain considered too far to cross.

Shota sighed, "I don't think I'm ready to get into any more of this tonight," He stated, disgusted with the whole damn situation. "We need to talk to Bakugou. I'll be with you for that conversation. I want to see what he's figured out and we'll decide what else he needs to know. In all honesty, the less, the better."

"But…"

"I want to keep my students as safe as possible. I don't intend to let you drag another one down the rabbit hole if I can avoid it."

All Might let whatever argument he was going to make rest.

Shota took that moment to add, "I'm also going to set up a meeting with Midoriya's mother, as soon as she is available. I've recommended Midoriya come and tell her about One for All. You will be there."

This time, the man just gave him a questioning look.

"You just admitted that these people are perfectly happy to go after their targets' families. She's in danger no matter what. So, she should know that she could be attacked and why. She also deserves to know what is really going on with her child."

All Might looked down at his feet. "I promised her I'd keep Midoriya safe. She might not believe me if she finds out about One for All."

"With good reason, seeing as you lied to her face."

"No, I didn't. I meant it when…"

"From the moment you chose Midoriya, a quirkless fourteen-year-old boy, as your successor, you placed him in harm's way. You handed him a quirk that you knew would break his body and place him in direct opposition to Japan's Worst. You used his dream to get what you wanted and left him blind to the full extent of the responsibilities and dangers he'd be exposed to until he'd passed the point of no return. And to this moment, you're still keeping important information from him." Shota opened the door into the hallway but looked back at the man as he stated. "It's time to face reality, All Might. Really look at it and be honest with yourself. If not for your sake, then for Midoriya's and that of all of the other children depending on you now."

All Might bit his lip and Shota pretended not to see the shine in the man's eyes like he was about to cry.

It wasn't the first time Shota had left someone in that state. Since he began teaching at UA, The Erasure Hero had crushed the hearts of many teenage hero hopefuls as he shattered their delusions beneath the cold, heavy weight of reality. Maybe not as often as his record may imply but he'd done it enough to be well practiced in pretending he didn't care about the broken mess the cruel act left behind.

He would leave the retired Number One Hero alone to pick up the broken pieces, just as he had all of those kids. And just like them, he'd ultimately be better for it.

Shota would never put feelings before lives. The logical choice was often harder than the emotional one. It didn't make it any easier.

So, the Erasure Hero simply stepped through the doorway, into the hall and said, "I'll see you tomorrow." Then he closed the door, and walked off into the darkness of the hallway. Even now, with the damage concealed behind a doorway, he dares not look back at the damage he's wrought.

* * *

 **Thus, ends Aizawa's confrontation of All Might.**

 **(Following Paragraph has some Manga spoilers, but implications toward them have already been made in the anime. If you don't want to be spoiled, skip it)**

 **I'll be honest, I think One for All is a creepy, scary quirk in its own right and that it's the nature of its users that made it a 'heroic' quirk. It has the capacity to be forced on people against their will. It blows of people's limbs if they aren't prepared for it. It has influence on the minds of the users to an unknown extent. It either copies something from or takes part of/all of the minds/souls of its users. Furthermore, unless AFO could somehow hear his brother through using Search, despite being locked up in Tartarus, then it has a connection to him that only he is aware of (And although AFO is in Tartarus and he's being monitored for activating quirks, he states that he's still able to use some, as mentioned by his complaint about his infrared vision. We know neither the finer details about Search, nor the presences within One for All).**

 **I will be expressing my views/queries for OFA throughout my story, though I'll try to wait for the cannon to confirm factors before I settle them for my fan fiction. There will be other ideas and fan theories that I support which will be hinted at here but not confirmed unless the Cannon does.**

 **I don't think the Sentience within OFA (echoes/souls/whatever of previous users) would intentionally harm current users and in fact try to help and support them from what I've seen but from an outside perspective, their interaction is terrifying to consider.**


	11. Books and Bandages

**Chapter 11**

After Izuku talked to All Might, he made his way to Alliance. His thoughts swung like a pendulum between his conversation with Aizawa and his worry for All Might.

When he opened the door to his room, his eye wasn't drawn to his All Might memorabilia, but at a tiny shelf with a set of worn, well-used notebooks resting on it.

He walked over to it and ran his fingers across their spines; feeling more than hearing the 'thump, thump, thump,' as his digits slipped over each one to the next. Most showed signs of wear, slightly warped from being thumbed again and again for who knows how many times. As a result, if he were to take any of them out from the shelf, he knew they would spring partially open of their own accord.

Izuku did just that: Choosing one at random and opening it to stare down at the page, but he didn't really see the words or sketches on it. He just held the book, each hand grasping thumbs on the pages and other fingers splayed across the covers... Tonight, would be the last night they'd be kept on a shelf in _his_ room.

Izuku knew that even when Aizawa gave them back, he could never bring himself to consider them safe next to his bed, ever again. But… That's where they'd _**always**_ been; right within arm's reach, whenever he needed them.

He bit his lip, as he recalled Aizawa's demand to hand the books over to him. The thought of parting with them made him feel, almost, physically sick.

Izuku didn't even know when he'd get them back.

He leaned his head against the shelf; against the tiny journals. Aizawa had said he'd give them back as soon as possible, but now that Izuku thought about it, that didn't necessarily mean it would be in the near future.

There had been days where Izuku's hero analysis felt like the only thing keeping him going; the only thing that kept him sane. Just going out and analyzing Quirks, it always made him feel better when he was sad, or upset. He'd loved doing it, even before he'd decided to hone those skills for heroics at about the age of seven, going back and labeling his previously unnamed series of books: 'Hero Analysis for my Future'.

They'd been _his_. No one had ever really cared what he put in them. Had no interest, whatsoever, on wanting to see what he was writing. So, he'd written in them, without any fear of what other's reading them might think.

As a result, he often wrote other things in them. Going off on tangents about how certain Quirks would be useful in certain ways if the laws weren't restrictive, how often certain types of Quirks seemed to show up in heroics or among villains, how there didn't seem to be rules on the level of violence a hero used, or the damage to their surroundings when trying to apprehend villains.

...Of his views on laws and society in general, based on his _experiences_.

Izuku had spent countless hours, writing. Yes, he analyzed heroes and even a few of the villains that they fought as he watched videos on the web, or the actual fights in person, but he didn't stop there. Sometimes, he'd go to a park and watch kids play to see new Quirks that way. He'd written about the people around him, too; Mom, his neighbors, his teachers and his classmates, Kacchan.

The book had carried him through his darkest times, distracting him when he felt lonely. Acting as a vent when he became angry, as a place to store the memories of amazing and cool moments that excited him. It was where he stored his dreams for becoming a hero, and buried his doubts and frustrations.

They were the greatest manifestation of his hope that he had, that people were wrong! As they repetitively told him to give up. They were the locked gates that held his fears. That he really was useless, just a _worthless_ _**Deku**_.

And they held physical evidence of milestones in his life. The thirteenth was the biggest representation of this fact: Its cover burnt from explosion with a dark stain across it and the spine that Izuku knew was sludge. Several of the pages were warped, rippled and wrinkled where they had gotten wet in the coy pond. And on one of the few pages that were spared was from ruin was All Might's signature. All were reminders of the day where everything had changed for him.

Still, although none were as momentous as those of Book Thirteen, many of the others had marks of their own, each with their own unique stories that only Izuku would ever truly know how to read. Izuku had sweat, blood and tears, both figuratively and literally, had been trapped between the pages of his books. He'd spent countless hours writing. He'd poured so many emotions in them. So many _memories_.

Now, Aizawa was confiscating them. Izuku understood why it was happening and that he would still be allowed to access his books, but it wasn't the same. He wouldn't look over at his book shelf in the morning to see them there. They'd be locked away, out of sight and he'd have to ask for them, like they weren't even his, anymore.

But, Aizawa Sensei was right. They were dangerous and now that the idea had been planted, the more he thought about it, the more horrifying it was.

Book Fifteen was a rewritten copy, the original lost when he was dropped in the pool at the USJ, over half full from analyses on both his teachers and his classmates. The rewrite basically finished itself, since he saw so many Quirks in action at the USJ and heard about more from some of his classmates' stories about their own encounters.

He'd had his sixteenth, which already had his UA tournament notes, On him for his internship. Excited to add more when Gran Torino had declared that they were going on patrol and had, instead, landed in the mess that was Hosu.

Possibly, within reach of Stain or the League.

Izuku's seventeenth book had been with him when the League of Villains Vanguard Squad had attacked the camp, because he'd been excited to get his first glimpse of many of the Class 1-B students' Quirks in the Test of Courage. He wondered how Shigaraki would've reacted to finding himself as the first entry of that notebook. He'd had a full set of observations; suspicions and queries with focus on the man's strengths, weaknesses and limits, complete with a reference to see Book Fifteen for the original entry on him based on what Izuku had seen during the USJ attack.

Izuku had been lucky so far. Best not to tempt fate any more than he had.

It didn't stop his eyes from watering as he placed the book back on the shelf, though.

Izuku splayed his hand across the spines one more time, the scars at his knuckles and wrist perpendicular to the books. He noted that his outstretched arm to see he had road burns from slamming into the asphalt with Kacchan. He'd best deal with that now, rather than end up with an infection or another set of scars.

He turned to his bed and pulled out his med kit. And as he opened it he was suddenly struck by the image of Kacchan, also hurt in their fight.

With that, all his thoughts about his books seemed selfish and petty. After all, he'd put Kacchan in danger by telling him anything about One for All. What were a few books compared to the threat that would hang over his childhood friend's head, for the rest of his life? What right did he have to push that on the blond?

Izuku thought of the other boy, currently dealing with his own injuries. Although Kacchan had dealt with worse since he came to UA, Recovery Girl usually healed the injuries shortly after he'd gotten them. He'd never had to deal with experiencing longer term pain of the healing process for so many cuts, scrapes and bruises healing at a normal rate.

Not like Izuku. He'd grown up walking off injury after injury. Even now, he was sporting injuries, not just from their fight, but from the training for the licensing exam, as well as the test, itself.

Recovery Girl had refused to heal Izuku again after he messed up his hand in the Sports Festival, unless she was required to. Izuku had long learned to respect the school nurses and their frustration at having to deal with him and so, much like his elementary and middle school nurses, he tried to respect her wishes and only showed up if the training injuries got serious enough that they might actually interfere with future classes. Izuku had set up a couple med kits for himself again, also, just like he'd had in elementary and middle school.

All it took, beyond that, was acting like he wasn't hurting.

He'd spent years faking that, so he wouldn't worry his mom. It was easy for him to slip back into that mindset for his friends. Especially when the training was so intense here that, as long as the visible damage wasn't too bad, no one really questioned anything. Besides, most of the areas that really got hurt were hidden by his uniform, gym track suit or costume. Heck, since messing up his arm during the training camp, he was able to get away with 'trying new things' with his school uniform, which allowed him to get away with covering parts of his arms with the UA School Uniform, too.

Of course, this also meant that Izuku, sometimes, had to do a little waiting in the locker room before changing. The only one who had ever seen the full extent of his naturally healing injuries was Todoroki, and that was mainly in the time between the Sports Festival and the summer training camp.

At least they didn't have to hide their injuries from each other. Izuku understood where Todoroki got his from, and Todoroki didn't even press him about his own naturally healing injuries. He seemed to accept the fact that Izuku let him see them at all, when he hid them from their other classmates, as enough of a show of trust. It was actually kind of comforting to have someone there to not hide it all from. That was something he never had in elementary or middle school.

In fact, when they were alone, Izuku would pull out his med kit and encourage the other boy to take what he needed from it.

The third time Izuku silently placed it out in the open after making his offer, Todoroki actually yielded. He had a familiarity to the some of materials that Izuku recognized as something gained from years of self-treatment. Still, due to the fact that Izuku had assembled his kit not just from obvious medical supplies but also improvised materials, he'd had to explain a few of the items and their uses to the other boy. AS Izuku watched, he'd noted the fact that their were areas that Todoroki couldn't reach as easily, which suggested that he was used to having some help with it.

Izuku was happy to provide it.

Then, Izuku discovered later that first day, that the other boy had dropped an ointment for reducing scars into the kit in return. At the time, he'd only needed to use it for his hand. In addition to thanking Todoroki, and insisting he didn't have to do that; he gave the other boy his gym locker combination, so that he could use the med kit whenever he needed it.

Izuku had since found himself restocking his med kit a little more often than usual, although it had leveled off after Hosu and seemed untouched by anyone but Izuku, since moving into the dorms. Although, a few more tubes of the ointment for dealing with scars still appeared in there from time to time.

And once they had moved into the dorms, Izuku had taken his medical kit from home and stashed it in his room. It was bigger and more well stocked than either the one in his gym locker, or the smaller ones he had in his hero costume and his school bag.

Still, he estimated that he probably cut his visits to Recovery Girl at least to a third of what he'd originally needed. Of course, he was working on reducing it more whenever he could. After all, who knew how much further Recovery Girl would cut back her healing for him if he kept coming in for every little injury he got?

Apparently, Recovery Girl and Aizawa weren't communicating, though, considering the teacher had forbidden both Izuku and Kacchan from seeing her to heal their wounds. Otherwise, he would've known Izuku would never show up for anything so minor, anyway.

Still, all of this meant that Kacchan was dealing with his wounds and probably didn't even know to do anything beyond ice and band-aids, and probably didn't even have access to the latter.

Next thing he knew, Izuku was picked up the aforementioned med kit and headed toward the door.

* * *

Katsuki was struggling to find a position he could comfortably sleep in, since everything ached. Honestly, the pain wasn't even that bad. If he wasn't trying to sleep, he'd probably barely even notice it. But, right now, it kept drawing his attention whenever he was about to drift off. Especially if he shifted position and irritated a new set of scrapes and bruises. And although he'd gone to bed sore before, it was from having tired muscles after a solid workout. This was a different kind of pain.

Katsuki was so actively tossing and turning in his discomfort, that he was starting to sweat into his sheets. At this rate, he'd use up the Nitroglycerin deactivating chemicals he had to lace them with and would have to give them another specialized wash tomorrow, or risk turning his bed into a fucking bomb. He looked over at the tub of it under his dresser.

He'd have to tell his parents he needed to order some more soon, seeing as he only had a few good washes worth left. Detnerat charged an arm and a leg, but they had the market cornered for Quirks that left chemical residues. Katsuki knew this well, since his parents had tried to get his supplies from another company, until they'd been bought out by the bigger one. They'd kept looking for others, but each which would cater to his Quirk seemed to either be quickly run out, or bought up. Companies that could produce it for other uses were prevented from supplying desperate people with their products by marketing laws. He wondered if he talked with other classmates who needed stuff from them and they ordered their supplies as a group, would Detnerat people lower their prices for a larger shipment.

Katsuki growled. Fucking Monopolies sucked.

Katsuki sighed, knowing that the pain was as much of an excuse as it was a real problem. The truth was, sleep had been elusive since the League had kidnapped him. Training now served a second purpose, beyond sharpening his skills; exhausting him enough to fall the fuck asleep. And even then, he might wake up to a nightmare or the sound of Engines 'quietly' patrolling the halls to make sure everyone was respecting curfew.

He rolled onto his back and winced, his train of thought broken as another set of bruises, scrapes and cuts were aggravated.

His mind wondered back to what happened earlier, passing through Katsuki's mind over and over again. He finally accepted that he wasn't going to fall asleep, any time soon. So he rolled out of bed and pulled out a book Class 1-A been assigned to read for English Class. He'd go down to the dorm computer's, but if the Robot decided to do a hallway check, he didn't feel like putting up with his whining for breaking curfew.

So, that was how Katsuki found himself working his way through said foreign language book, trying to figure out what was going on, when there was a knock on his door.

* * *

So, I know there was no dialogue in this chapter but there will be next time. I don't think I've ever written a chapter like this before, actually. Hopefully you enjoyed reading it. Feel free to let me know what you thought.

I think that, during the year where Izuku trained with All Might, he would have still continued his Analysis on his days off. I figure between that and the entrance exam, he would definitely be able to finish his thirteenth and possibly a fourteenth book as well. Thus, I made it number 15 at the USJ.


	12. An Eye Opening Moment

**Chapter 12**

A knock startled Katsuki out of his reading. He sighed, got up and placed the book on the bed before he went to open the door. The book was really just a distraction from his thoughts, anyway. No doubt, this would probably be a better one, despite not even really wanting to deal with anyone right now.

Even before he opened the door, he had a good idea of who was there. Therefore, he wasn't exactly surprised to find Deku standing there.

Not surprised, but maybe annoyed.

Katsuki then noticed that the other boy's left hand was at his side, clutching the handle of a tackle box.

 _'A few months ago, it would've been in his right.'_ The thought was unbidden, as it was unwelcome. Katsuki mentally shoved it away as he frowned and declared, "Just because I accepted you as my rival now, it doesn't mean I don't want my fucking space!"

Deku shrank at his tone and trembled, but mumbled out, "I-I thought since both of us were told to take care of ourselves," he held up a tackle box he was carrying with him, "I- ..."

Deku glanced back down the hall.

Katsuki followed his gaze, looking past Kirishima's room, where Shitty Hair, himself, was probably dead to the world, and toward the Tentacled Freak's door beyond it. Right. The guy probably slept with half a dozen ears on those arms of his. After all their villain encounters, Katsuki knew he certainly would if he had the guy's Quirk.

But would Katsuki have thought of that if Deku hadn't silently pointed it out? Maybe. Maybe not.

Katsuki glanced back at the greenette, who lifted up the tackle box a little higher and mouthed 'med kit.' He wanted to ask why Deku even had it in the first place. They usually had Recovery Girl to heal them.

Deku was probably just overprepared.

After a moment, Katsuki stepped aside and let the other boy in.

He sat on the bed as Deku sat on the floor, legs crossed and silently opened the box and started pulling supplies out. Some of them were obvious in their use, others… Not so much.

"Aren't those winged things for girls?"

Deku blushed but said, "Y-y-yes b-b-but th-they're also g-good for this. I learned to substitute materials. I c-couldn't exactly g-go to th-the store all the time, and I certainly don't have enough money to keep myself stocked." The annoying stutter vanished as he added, "I wasn't about to ask mom. I already worried her enough without her knowing about this, too. So, I took advantage when we're in any public place, and can sneak away for a few moments." He sighed and added, "I like to raid the ones in single person bathrooms, if I can. Waiting for larger ones to empty out is… Nerve wracking. I was able to slip away and restock on them while we were shopping for disguises at Kamino Ward, as well as a few other things. I didn't know what shape you'd be in when we rescued you."

The last part was nothing more than a whisper as he shook a bottle of something, creating a swishing noise to mask the words from possible sensitive eavesdropping ears from two rooms over.

"Next time you go on a rescue mission, you can probably convince your team to help you get supplies, rather than go behind their backs." Katsuki stated. He knew the reason Deku hadn't was that, despite wanting to give help, he wasn't used to expecting it from others.

Even when Deku sent out that group text at Hosu, Katsuki was willing to bet it had been a last-ditch act of desperation. Because he had no doubt that if Deku was there to see the Hero Killer attacking someone, he sure as hell didn't just stand there and wait for someone 'more qualified' to save the day. And after the way that the Shit Storm at I-Island got covered up, he had no doubt about why he didn't hear a fucking word about what his three classmates had really been doing before they had been downgraded to 'witnesses.'

Fucking bullshit, the whole damn system was screwed up and the Media was even willing to help cover up how broke it was. Of course, Katsuki'd known how crappy it was to people who just wanted to help. He'd learned that at the same time he learned about Deku's refusal to wait for qualified personnel.

Katsuki forced the memories that the knowledge rose from to the back of his mind. He didn't need to think about that shit right now.

Now that he thought about it, maybe Deku had the right idea not to expect help from most of the hero system, which seemed to fuck them over at every fucking turn. But, within UA… Within _Class 1-A_ … It wasn't the case.

Katsuki kept his features neutral, despite feeling the shame well up in him as he stated, "It's not like Odura."

Deku smiled at that. "No, it's really not."

"So, where were you hiding all that shit when you were at Kamino, anyway?"

"I've known how to carry things like that without people seeing it for years. It's not super hard to find the tricks online. Plus, setting it in right, I could make it so blows did less damage." He hummed, "You know, I should probably refresh and take another look to learn about hiding items, since Compress is obviously skilled with sleight of hand and able to use it in a fight…"

Katsuki frowned at the reference to the coward who'd snuck up from behind and snatched him when he wasn't looking, "If this is turning into a villain analyzation session, you can take your crap and go right back out that door."

Izuku immediately fell silent.

Hoping to change the subject and curious about Deku's supplies, he asked, half-jokingly, "I don't suppose you have thread in there?"

To Katsuki's horror, Izuku lifted a spool up but said, "As long as it can be sterilized, this'll work, but usually super glue is enough and it's easy enough to find."

"If whatever you use for it is a fire hazard, keep it away from me. Same with any chemical crap. No telling what that shit will do if it mixes with my sweat."

Judging from the shocked look Deku gave, he clearly hadn't thought about that. Katsuki supposed that there was a first for everything. He could see the green-haired boy realigning his thoughts with the new piece of information, and half expected him to start his creepy mumbling shit. Thankfully, it didn't come to that and he started placing his antiseptics, and creams back in the case.

It was not like Katsuki needed it, anyway. The chemical make up of his sweat was too much for a lot of the shitty crap that caused infections. It was one of the few advantages of sweating some of the most reactive crap in existence. Just because not all his pores pumped it out, didn't mean it won't get all over the place. Honestly, it acted as his own damn antiseptic, albeit not one he could safely share.

How ironic that a frog girl wasn't the member of their class who had to be the most careful about making skin contact with their classmates, due to fucking chemical reactions. He'd learned that during his first year of middle school and promptly backed off on throwing fucking punches when he found out that he didn't need to ignite his sweat in order for it to hurt people…

"Where the fuck did you learn this crap?" Katsuki sure hoped if tentacles was listening, he wouldn't be able to guess what the shit they were listing was for. Just think it was a weird conversation.

Izuku glanced over his shoulder, "Do you mean how to use them or how to get them?"

"Both."

"The marks left by people using their Quirks don't exactly just disappear, Kacchan. You know what your Quirk can do, for one."

"You seemed to do fine, afterward." Katsuki wasn't proud to admit that he'd learned where to draw the line on how much damage he could get away with using his Quirk through what he did to Deku when they were younger.

Izuku shrugged. "Not really." The way he said it so casually, sent an icicle through Katsuki's heart. "The staff at Odura made a deal with me. You know as well as I do that heroic Quirks weren't the only ones there."

Katsuki kept his features neutral, hoping to hide his nausea. He had always assumed Deku had just healed after everything. That his skin being pristine by the time Katsuki came back for the next round was _normal_.

 _'Come to think of it…'_ In a controlled tone, Katsuki commented, "You had scars going into middle school that are gone now."

"It's fine, Kacchan." He said consolingly. "They're not really gone, either, it was a skin-deep fix, only." He pressed a spot on his forehead, right at the hairline and pulled away, and Katsuki saw a slightly lighter line before the skin was back to normal. Katsuki must've been failing to conceal his emotions, because Deku took one look at his face and assured him, "It's not really a big deal. Really!"

Like hell it wasn't! Unable to hold in his misery and anger that Deku could be so calm about this shit, he shrieked, "Fucking Seriously!?"

 _ ***Thunk!***_

Katsuki looked at a new hole in his wall that his fist was currently occupying. Funny, he'd expected breaking the wall to be louder. He expected it to hurt more. But it had given way rather easily, he could feel soft insulation surrounding his hand as he growled.

Then, as he heard a thump and a mix of clacking and scraping of something too hard to be normal feet on the floor in the room through the wall opposite the one he'd punched, he realized his mistake.

* * *

He'd forgotten that things were too tense around here to be doing that kind of shit.

Eijiro was unable to move. Gripped by terror. They were right over there, and he couldn't do a thing. Too scared to even reach for his Quirk. He was so useless. All of his talk of manliness, all of his bluster, but when push came to shove, at the moment of truth, he froze.

 _Again._

Bakugou was right on the other-side of the wall, the villain towering over him.

It was completely different from the time before, with the giant towering over the girls…

It was exactly the same…

Because he was just as useless as before. He was just as much of a coward. Nothing had changed!

Nothing.

 _Had._

 _ **Changed.**_

He couldn't move. Frozen with fear, just like before…

He curled up, eyes scrunched closed, paralyzed by fear and burned by his self-loathing at his cowardice.

Then, he heard Bakugou cry out and reacted.

His eyes snapped open, and he scrabbled forward.

Only, he wasn't in Kamino now.

Eijiro's mind hadn't caught up to where he was, exactly, but it didn't matter. Bakugou was in trouble and right now, he had to move.

He couldn't freeze. Couldn't let his cowardice take control.

Not again.

As he forced himself up, skin already solidifying and joints sharpening, he felt something tug at his frame before a loud 'riiiip' reached his ears and he could move again. As his feet met the floor with clacking and scraping, he yelled out, "I'm coming!" and launched himself toward the wall that separated from the source of the cry.

He ran across the space, knocking over objects in his way, busting a desk and slamming through the wall. Once again, his mind trying to make a connection, one he didn't much care to pay attention to since he was focused on getting to Bakugou.

The wall caved easily, breaking and crumbling beneath his hardened form. So hard that the muscles of his face were so restrained by his hardening that he couldn't even completely close his mouth against it. So he felt pieces collide with his teeth and tasted some of the dust that coated his tongue as he inhaled, further reminding him of the taste and smell of the air in Kamino after all those buildings had fallen and had to struggle not to gag on it.

He landed in a solid stance beyond the wall, ready to hold his ground against whatever had called his friend to cry out… Only to find Bakugou, and Midoriya in the room.

And reality chose that moment to catch up with him. He was in UA, in the 1-A Dorm. He'd just knocked over his punching bag, wrecked his desk and slammed through the wall of his bedroom into Bakugou's in nothing but now tattered boxers. In the blink of an eye, his hardening fell away in his embarrassment.

"Damn it, Shitty hair!" Bakugou called out angrily. "Did you really need to knock down my wall?!"

Eijiro felt himself flush with his embarrassment, as he replied, "Sorry, Man! I heard you scream and I just reacted!"

Bakugou growled in frustration before he released his breath in a huff and said, "Yeah, I know but…Fuck…As if we aren't in enough trouble already."

And then, Bakugou's door flew open and slammed into the wall to reveal Shoji towering in the entrance, One of his tentacles was already a mouth and another couple were extended with hands becoming fists as he stood full height, webbed limbs extended intimidatingly, as if expecting a fight, "What's wrong?!"

Kirishima knew he wouldn't forget the sight anytime soon. Shoji was so manly, busting in like that!

Then, Shoji looked at the wall Eijiro had entered through with his natural eyes, widening above the fabric that always concealed his mouth and his form relaxing as he queried, in a less terrifying and more confused voice, "What happened?"

As the newest arrival settled down, Eijiro glanced between Bakugou, and Midoriya as they side-by-side, the prior looking frustrated and the latter nervous. Their behavior was normal, but there was something about the scene that was off… Then it clicked. They were standing together. That never happened.

Eijiro looked closer, and noticed that the two were both covered in bruises and scrapes. Like there had been a fight.

Shoji, also, seemed to be calming down, relaxing his form so he no longer splayed his webbed arms like a cobra raising its hood.

There was a box on the ground between them overflowing with items, and he saw the bandages on their arms.

With all of this, plus Bakugou's mention oflready being in trouble, Eijiro managed to make the connection. Horrified, he asked,"Were you attacked by villains?" And Bakugou didn't have a license! "Is that why you're not going to Recovery Girl? Guys, if you need help hiding it, you know I'm always…"

"What's this about Villains?!" Iida yelled, as he slid sideways into view, so that he was directly facing the room, cutting the air with his hands, as Shoji cleared the doorway to allow the young Engine Hero more space.

Katsuki frowned and said, "Seriously?! That's the first thing you people think when you see us with…!" he paused for a moment, glancing sideways at Deku, before stating in a much calmer tone, "You know what? I'd probably think that, too. We can't cross the fucking street round here without getting attacked."

"That's a bit of an exaggeration, isn't it?" Midoriya, of all people, asked.

"You're the main reason I can say it, Nerd." Bakugou argued.

"Bakugou," Iida interjected, hand ben out in his direction, "that is no way to speak to a classmate!"

"I'll talk to Deku however the fuck I feel like it," Bakugou yelled, a couple sparks absentmindedly popping off in his hands as he said this.

Midoriya used a hand to push down on Bakugou's closest wrist, as he looked to Iida and stated, "Look, it's no big deal. Everything's fine. There weren't any villains, I promise."

"Hmpf," Bakugou turned slightly away from the other people in the room but didn't interrupt further as Midoriya continued.

"Kacchan and I were just fighting, we promise! We aren't healed because part of Aizawa Sensei's punishment is that we have to heal on our own."

"You had a fight!?" Iida asked as more classmates started gathering in the doorway. "Is that how we got a hole in the wall?!"

"Oh, come on! You can clearly make out Shitty Hair's shape in it!"

Eijiro turned his head so that he could see to see Bakugou's statement was true, to the point that it might have been something out of a western cartoon. The really short ones. It would be kind of funny, if it weren't for the current situation.

"I might have overreacted a little when I heard Bakugou cry out." Eijiro admitted, as he turned his attention back to the group.

"By damaging school property?!" Iida asked, looking horrified.

"I didn't know where we were!" Eijiro looked back at the hole in the wall and a few more pieces fell to the ground, before glancing back at the others and admitting, "I was dreaming about Kamino Ward, I thought it was…! I thought I was-…! That we were-…" his voice caught in his throat.

"…Back there again," Izuku finished.

Iida looked over at Shoji, who was standing there uncomfortably. "Could you send any of our classmates that might come to investigate back to their rooms? I know it's unfair to request this of you at such a late hour, but…"

A mouth reformed on one of the other boy's tentacles and he said, "Don't worry, I'll take care of the others."

* * *

 **I try to make a nice little uplifting bonding moment between Izuku and Bakugou to wrap up the night and instead, I get this scene running things out another couple chapters. The original version was actually much shorter, so it was going to be part of chapter 11 and wrap up the evening. I had intended for that chapter to be the ending of the night. I got it written out, thought the interaction seemed off and I went to rewrite a few things. Next thing I know, 'Wham' Bakugou yells and punches a wall in anger and 'BAM' in comes Kirishima, breaking through and shattering my original ending just like he busted through Bakugou's wall (although it was the door originally) with a whole new scene following in on his heels. Then I realize that this version is probably more fitting for what I'm planning with my story anyway. And now it's extended more since then.**

 **I think that there is no way that a kid who went through as much as Izuku was implied to have experienced with quirk-based bullying would get through it without a ton of scars…unless there was another quirk involved. The school would protect their reputation and Izuku would be able to hide from his mother just how hurt he got. The school would offer the option to protect the reputations of students with the most heroic potential and Izuku would agree to it for both his Mom's peace of mind and Bakugou Hero Career.**

 **The med supply stealing/substituting is a head cannon I've gotten since I think Izuku would try to hide the worst of his injuries from his mother. This whole head canon set could also pave the way for his 'doing what's right rather than doing what's legal' mindset, perhaps not seeing how deep in the gray his actions were, since he was so little.**

 **So, knowing how Kirishima is established to feel about when he gets too scared to move, I'm surprised that he didn't seem effected long term by the fact that he was frozen during Kamino Ward. I would think that the fact that no one else moved for a while wouldn't make him feel better. For him, I'd figure all that he could think is that he froze up just as he did in that alley all that time ago. And it was someone else who spurred everyone into motion.**

 **Kirishima didn't quite reach his unbreakable form, thus no mention of his eyes hardening or his lips drawing back away from his teeth and gums. He was in a sort of in between state because while he was concerned for Bakugou, he'd never having reached that form before.**

 **The 1-A Students have been through a lot this year. I think that they are at the point where they would jump into action at even the hint of a threat. Everyone has suffered at least two attacks from villains when they were supposed to be safe and some have had many more encounters.**

 **It doesn't matter that they are supposedly safe in the Dorms, I think 1-A has seen too much to believe that.**

 **I will be looking at different character perspectives from time to time, although I can't say how often they will reappear. Originally, I was going to try to write this scene from Izuku's and Bakugou's perspectives only but Kirishima's POV begged to be written and then when I was having trouble finishing, I decided to try from yet another character's perspective and the rest of the scene was almost finished in one go. You'll get to see that next chapter.**

 **Edit: I would like to thank Dannythebookworm for pointing out my mistake with Nitrogycerin. It was not acidic, just one of the ingredients to make it. My apologies.**

 **Similarly, it has been pointed out in Chapter 4, Trickerash pointed out that Japan does have Lightningbugs. That will probably stay unchanged and I'll have some issue (disease/parasite/human activity) that wiped them out in the 200 year time period between current era and BNMHA future. Insects are currently facing many issues, so it's not a large stretch. If I can actually mention it in story as a reasonable part, I will but I don't like just shoving it in without a reason.**


	13. Call it a Night

**Chapter 13: Calling it A Night**

Tenya felt ashamed to ask Shoji to bear the responsibility of talking to their classmates who would be drawn out of their rooms by the noise. It should've been his responsibility as Class President.

But, at the moment, he had duties. Not just as a Class Representative, but as a friend and as a one of the students who had been there at Kamino Ward.

Watching Kirishima, Tenya was confident that he was physically unscathed but there was no doubt that he still bore the mental wounds left by the horror of the battle they had witnessed.

Tenya found himself recalling of how he'd closed himself off after Stain had attacked his brother. Although what Kirishima was going through would be very different, the young Engine Hero found himself recalling what Midoriya had said to him all those months ago. He looked Kirishima in the eye and stated, "You know that we will be here for you if you need to talk, right?"

"Thanks, man." Kirishima replied, a small but warm smile establishing itself, seeming somehow more genuine than most of the enthusiastic ones he usually had. "Maybe some other time."

Tenya noticed Izuku's own smile at the corner of his eye as the young Ingenium gave a nod of acknowledgment to the other boy. "That being said, while your enthusiasm to protect Bakugou was admirable, your actions were rash. Initiative and drive are important but you should also pay attention to your surroundings. You caused damages unnecessarily and could've gotten hurt if there was an actual villain attack."

Kirishima's smile became sheepish.

Tenya nodded, and looked over at his other two classmates and asked, "And how are you two?"

Bakugou slouched "Tch, We're fine."

Midoriya nodded affirmatively and declared, "Neither of us are really hurt too badly. I just wanted to be sure we took care of ourselves, so I brought down my kit."

Under different circumstances, Tenya might've commended Midoriya on his foresight to have a medical supply on hand, but he hadn't missed their explanation for why he and Bakugou were beat up. "Now what's this about a fight?"

As Midoriya and Bakugou explained what had happened and how Aizawa Sensei had to step in and split them up before talking to them and assigning their punishment, Tenya felt frustration. Not just at them for fighting and himself, since two of his classmates had managed to sneak off without him noticing. What type of Class President was he if he didn't even realize that two of his classmates were missing, and at curfew, no less?

"How could you two be so irresponsible?!" Iida asked, he looked specifically at the green haired boy and stated, "Honestly, I'd expect this from you, Bakugou," He stated pointedly before looking at the other boy, "but you too, Midoriya?"

Tenya must've failed to hear the door open, because the voice from the entryway was the first sign that he got that the door had been opened again. The school spared no expenses, even on door hinges. The voice alerting him simply asked, "Were you two talking out your issues with each other?"

Everyone looked up to see Yaoyorozu, and Todoroki standing in the door way. It was the latter who asked the question, earning confused looks from both Tenya and Kirishima, while Midoriya simply looked embarrassed and Bakugou, annoyed.

Yaoyorozu stated, "Shoji said we might want to come in. There was mention of Kamino Ward?"

Tenya frowned and gave a single nod, "Yes, but we've worked through that, already. Although, your support is greatly appreciated." He looked at Todoroki and asked, "Why would you think Midoriya and Bakugou were working through their issues, if they were fighting?"

"Well, from what we've heard, there was no villain attack and there's no way that they'd be training at this hour. So, why else would they be fighting?"

Bakugou rolled his eyes and stated, "Of course you'd jump to that conclusion, Half-and-Half Bastard."

As much as Bakugou's vulgarity bothered him, Tenya found Todoroki's question far more concerning. "Fighting is no way to work through your problems!"

Todoroki gave him a puzzled look and asked, "But don't we do that all the time? Plus, Bakugou didn't say I was wrong."

Tenya would state that Todoroki's joke was in poor taste but from his understanding, Todoroki didn't know how to make a joke any more than he, himself, knew whether or not he was hearing one. So, his safest bet was that his classmate was being completely serious.

Tenya looked back at Midoriya and Bakugou, standing shoulder-to-shoulder. Standing _together_. And he realized that, in all of their time here at UA, he'd never seen that before. Disturbing as it was that Todoroki came to the conclusion he did so quickly, he might be right.

But even if it was to deal with the problems that had so clearly plagued them since the beginning of the school year, it didn't make this right. They'd fought, leaving the dorms after curfew to go to Ground Beta, and use their Quirks on each other, undoubtably risking their own safety and causing serious damage to their surroundings in the process.

That was unacceptable behavior.

Even now, Tenya noted that Midoriya and Bakugou seemed strained, awkward in their proximity to each other. They kept a healthy distance from each other. Bakugou hadn't looked directly at Midoriya once, while Midoriya was extremely quiet and watchful of the other boy. And while at first it had looked like they were shoulder-to-shoulder, he noticed that Izuku was actually a bit further back than Bakugou, leading to being almost behind rather than beside him, the more Tenya looked.

Tenya noticed Todoroki was watching them intently, too. His gaze intense and unreadable, but more watchful than cold as it had been at the beginning of the year.

Yaoyorozu took the moment of silence as an opportunity to speak. "Look, I think that for now, the best thing we can do right now is get some sleep. Unless, you'd rather call Aizawa Sensei up here tonight to tell him about the holes in the wall?"

Everyone silently looked at said holes, before the others turned to Tenya, whose responsibility it was to make the call.

He looked at his anxious classmates and considered that their teacher's patience was probably already worn thin from dealing with the fight earlier. Finally, he decided that, despite the importance of keeping him notified of such events, perhaps now wasn't the best time to approach him. So, he came to a decision.

* * *

As Shota rounded the corner and saw the dorms in the distance, he felt a wave of relief. The day had been long but it was almost over. All that remained was for him to just-...

Why did most of the lights on the upper floors of Heights Alliance just turn on? He could even see students moving through the lit hallways, as they passed the windows at the front of the building.

Shota's hopes of finally getting some rest were helpless casualties of the sight, beyond his power to save. They died a horrible death, even before he started running.

The Erasure Hero rushed toward the dorm as fast as he had dashed out to the training ground, earlier. Once again, he admonished himself for forgetting his capture equipment.

Shota entered the building and rather than waste time with the elevator, he didn't miss a beat as he charged up the stairs, having already noticed that the students had seemed to be converging on the boys' side of the fourth floor.

As it turned out, he didn't have to run up all three flights. When he reached the second-floor of the stairwell, he heard Dark Shadow whining, "…Is my time, and now the whole buildings lit up."

Tokoyami's voice responded, "I'll set the night light to its lowest setting, to make up for it."

"At least everyone's all right." Aoyama said.

By then, they were rounding the corner. "good evening, Aizawa Sensei," Tokoyami said, as Dark Shadow fell silent and Aoyama perked up slightly.

"What happened?"

"Dark Shadow heard some banging and yelling upstairs, so we went to make sure everything was alright."

"I heard something too, and got curious," the Aoyama added. "Jiro's at the third-floor landing."

"She's telling everyone that the situations being taken care of, whatever it was and Iida wants everyone to just go back to our rooms."

Shota nodded, relieved that whatever the situation was, it couldn't be too serious. Although it was no longer a life or death situation, he still made his way up the stairs relatively quickly. As he entered the third-floor landing, Jiro was indeed standing in the doorway of the stairwell, so that she could watch both it and the elevator.

He didn't even have to ask when Jiro stated," There was some ruckus in Bakugou's room." Of course, it was one of the problem children's rooms. "Apparently, Kirishima was startled and tore a hole in the wall separating their rooms to get to him. Iida, Yaoyorozu, Todoroki, Midoriya, Bakugou and Kirishima are currently in Bakugou's room, and Shoji is in the hall. I think he already talked everyone else who came out of their rooms on the upper floors."

Shota nodded. A part of him was pleased with his students demonstrated ability to work together so much efficiently compared to his freshmen of previous years. Usually, the students formed smaller cliques and started rivalries with each other, embracing the competitive nature of the heroics industry at the cost of deeper relationships with the majority of their classmates.

Unfortunately, he understood the reason behind this. Shared hardships brought people together, and these kids had shared multiple life or death ordeals, often having to depend on each other for survival.

Especially seeing that Shota often couldn't be there to protect them as well as he should have been able to. Logically, he knew that he couldn't be everywhere at once but it was cold comfort when his students were injured or got kidnapped on his watch. He understood what was at stake; had known since half way through his own time at UA. He was lucky none had died.

But that didn't change the fact that he was pleased by his students' performance. "Your approach in using your Quirk to take stock of the situation and then intercepting your classmates to reassure them and send them back to bed was smart."

"Thank you, Aizawa sensei."

Shota gave a single nod, before stating, "You should go back to your room now, though."

The girl nodded at the dismissal before exiting the doorway and heading back toward her room.

As he topped the stairs at the floor of his destination and rounded the corner, he found Shoji leaning against his bedroom door. "I'll take it you heard my conversation with Jiro?" Probably with Tokoyami and Aoyama, too.

"I did," the boy stated through a mouth on one tentacle.

"The same applies for you. You did well, but you can go back to bed."

Shoji nodded, and slipped back into his room.

As he approached the door to Bakugou's room, Iida's voice rang out. "I'll inform him in the morning. Nothing can really be done about…"

"There's no point in waiting," Shota stated as he entered the room. "I've already heard from your classmates."

For a moment, he just stared at Kirishima, standing in his underwear in front of a Kirishima-shaped hole in the wall. Then, he looked at the smaller one across the room, close to Midoriya and Bakugou. The two were standing together, a tacklebox opened behind them with a set of medical supplies between them. Half of said supplies were improvised materials.

Shota also noted how, just as Jiro had said, Iida, Yaoyorozu and Todoroki were all here as well. Meaning, all of the students who went to Kamino had all been left unsupervised in one room together.

All things considered; Shota supposed that it could be worse.

The thought didn't make him feel any less fed up with this evening. He took a deep breath and released it, before finally asking, "Kirishima, why did you jump through a wall?"

"Bakugou yelled and I woke up, thinking that he was in trouble."

"And what about the other one?"

"It's mine." Bakugou said but didn't elaborate beyond that.

Shota had a feeling it had to do with sharing the same space with Midoriya. He doubted that the two were really ready to be together alone right now but decided not to press any further. "Congratulations, you'll both be writing papers on the consequences heroes face, when damaging public property. Bakugou, this is in addition to the terms I already placed on your punishment."

Kirishima groaned, while Bakugou accepted the declaration, stoically.

Maybe Shota should set up a mock set of heroics related damage report forms for students when they damaged school property outside of class as part of future punishments. It would help teach them about the other side of heroics in a way that they were unlikely to forget and the tedium of the task might be enough to discourage it in the future. That even be worth the sleep he'd lose making the fake forms.

Shota put the idea on the back burner, as he examined the hole Kirishima had made more closely before declaring, "Luckily, there's no structural damage. As long as you two don't try to pass through the hole in the wall, you should be fine. I'll pass on the message in the morning and hopefully, it'll be repaired later in the day."

Then he walked over to the med kit between Midoriya and Bakugou "Who's is this?"

"It's mine," Midoriya replied. "I like being prepared."

Shota couldn't argue with that. He was just surprised, as most students fully trusted in Recovery Girl's presence. If the kid was prepared enough to counter his restriction from her with actual medical supplies, Shota wasn't about to penalize him for it.

But Shota was more than a little disturbed that for a DIY kit, it was extremely thorough. "Knowing your way around medical supplies and knowing how to substitute them as needed, can save lives. But there's a reason some things are specifically made for medical purposes. I don't want you using anything less, unless you have to. I'll show you where the supplies for student kits are, when you come off of house arrest. After that, I don't want to see you carrying the substitutes for anything we actually supply. Usually, students don't start using them until later in their second year but you clearly understand what you are doing. Remember that until you are first aid certified, you are restricted in your use of them for civilians unsupervised. And, if you receive injuries requiring supplies that we don't have, you should be going directly to Recovery Girl's office, anyway."

Midoriya hesitated a fraction of a second before replying, "Yes, Aizawa Sensei."

There seemed to be something reluctant in the tone in which he replied that worried Shota. Maybe he was so tired that he was imagining things that weren't there. It was late, after all. Either way, it wouldn't be that much more effort to call Recovery Girl to make sure he showed up at her office the next time he sent the boy off to get healed up after training. He could bring it up with her, when he discussed her knowledge about One for All.

Ugh. Just thinking about the Quirk's existence was exhausting right now.

He looked around the room, and declared in a tired tone, "It's well past curfew. I already sent the students in the hall to their rooms, and I expect you to follow."

"Can Kacchan and I just-?"

"No." Bakugou stated, before Shota could. "We're done. I want you to pack up your kit and get out."

The man noted how Midoriya seemed to still at the word, as if suppressing the urge to flinch away. Shota recalled what he'd seen earlier and made was reminded that he should watch how the two interacted more closely. He really didn't like the signs he was seeing.

Bakugou continued, not seeming to notice the change. "We're done. I want you to pack up your kit and get out."

"Kacchan…"

"He's right. You two just had a fight, and haven't given anything time to settle." He found his gaze shifting to Bakugou in particular with the declaration. "I don't want the two of you to have any further contact with each other, tonight."

"Yes Sensei," Midoriya stated, as Bakugou gave a curt nod.

Shota looked around, and addressed all the students in the room, "Don't expect me to be lenient with any of you tomorrow because you stayed up tonight."

As he turned to leave, his gaze fell on Todoroki who, rather than acknowledge his order seemed to be watching Midoriya and Bakugou with an unreadable mask. It wasn't quite as cold as when he'd first arrived but much closer than he'd seen it in a long time.

He didn't wait for the students to clear out, just turned and left back into the hallway, looking even more tired than he usually did, which didn't seem possible.

* * *

Izuku picked up his medical supplies quickly, although he had to stop for a moment to quietly explain to a very confused Momo and Iida what he'd told Bakugou earlier about the medical application of some of the items he had in his case.

Todoroki was more knowledgeable, due to his own experiences and his familiarity with Izuku's medical kit. Izuku noted occasional glimpses thrown toward Bakugou, where the biochromatic boy's eyes would lose some of their warmth.

Once everything was picked up, Iida, Momo, Todoroki and Izuku stepped out of the room and into the hallway, which was now emptied.

Izuku smiled as he recalled what Aizawa had said about having to clear the space. The way everyone had jumped when they thought Kacchan was in trouble may have been startling, but it was also a relief. Kacchan was safe, as he could be here in the dorms. Everyone was safe here with the others to watch out for them.

Rather than join the elevators, Izuku decided to take the stairs. Wishing the others good night, he started down to his floor.

Izuku let his mind wander and found himself thinking about Kirishima's Quirk. It had been so cool, the way he just came crashing through the wall. He'd never seen the other so solid. He could even hear the other creek as he looked around, teeth bared and eyes glowing like rubies as they glanced around, almost exposed to the gums, hands claw like as his scant clothing hung, slicing and tearing on his new, temporary sharp edges.

Izuku wondered just how much more solid the other boy could become. The defensive purposes of his quirk were obvious but Izuku found himself wondering if he could use his edges like blades, as well. It would make him good not only for fighting, but could use them more delicate situations where they needed a cutting tool.

Depending on just how well he could control what he hardened, he could even control the size of said 'tools.' From slicing through walls and doors, to wire cutters. And the maneuverability in small spaces that some of the actual tools wouldn't would make him even more valued when sensitivity was needed.

As Izuku entered his room, he rushed over to his latest notebook, picked it up… And set it right back down. He sighed, longing, but regretful. Aizawa Sensei had forbidden him from writing about what he saw, until he had permission.

Maybe Izuku could just tell his teacher about what he saw and get permission to scribble his thoughts down, while he's handing his books over. If not, he'd just have to try to remember everything he could until then.

* * *

Katsuki removed the book he'd placed there earlier, laid back down on the bed, but couldn't sleep for a different reason.

 _Deku._

Deku, who'd learned to make or steal substitute medical supplies and use them, deftly. Who had made a deal with their old school to help hide his fucking scars?

A set of scars Katsuki, no doubt, had contributed to. Others that were from classmates that he'd encouraged to hassle Deku in elementary and middle school.

 _Damn it!_

Katsuki felt his eyes sting, and a dampness on his face. Must be sweat getting into his eyes, because he knew he sure as hell couldn't be crying right now.

But he knew that it was his fault that _fucking_ Deku had resorted that shit in the first place.

 _Why the fuck did Deku still go out of his way to do stuff like this, for_ _ **him**_ _?_

"Hey Bakubro, you alright?"

Katsuki sighed, and removed his gaze from the ceiling to look through the hole in his wall, to where Kirishima was looking through at him. "I'm fine," he said, keeping his voice from wavering too much.

Then, realized it was probably the wrong answer. Because 'fine' was code for, 'Hell no, but I don't want to talk about it'.

Luckily, Kirishima either didn't notice or chose not to press. "Sorry, again, about the wall."

"Don't worry about it. Whether it's with their living Cement Mixer or by some other way, the school'll have it fixed in no time. They have the budget to cover it just fine." It was nothing compared to what he and Deku had done at Ground Beta.

It was funny but despite all the crap from that night and the worries they stirred up and in spite of Kirishima's snoring… Katsuki woke up the next morning to find he'd gotten the best night sleep he'd had since Kamino Ward.

* * *

 **I'm sure that a lot of readers recognized part of Iida's scene for its similarity to the Manga confrontation, the next morning. Generally, if I have stuff that references the Manga, unless it's important to keep things straight, like in the first chapter, I will either be mildly detailed about them or might try to play with how/when the scenes/events play out. I will obviously do my best to keep everyone in character and make events no more unbelievable in their occurrence than in the Manga/anime.**

 **Event likelihood in comparison to cannon isn't even a high bar to hit honestly: What were the chances of Midoriya getting the right alley in Hosu just in time to save Iida from Stain? How about of Shigaraki brooding in the Mall at the same time most of 1A was there and just happening to catch Izuku alone? These are just a couple of examples, but in stories like this; real world odds get tossed right out the window. We wouldn't find them nearly as fun if they didn't.**

 **It hurt to write the point where Iida admonishes Izuku more than Bakugou but it is what happens in canon. I have some ideas related to this all too common issue among a lot of the characters when noticing Midoriya and Bakugou's conflict. Although I haven't gone into any great detail here, I decided to drop some hints to that in the way that Midoriya and Bakugou are acting now that they've 'worked out some of their issues.' It's something I will be covering in more detail later but, after a few conversations I've had with readers, I decided to drop a couple 'some people starting to see signs ' moments in this chapter.**

 **So, Todoroki is generally clueless about social cues but fighting to deal with emotions is something that seems like he would have picked up. He fought with Midoriya to get over his issues with using his fire side. He, Midoriya and Iida ganged up on Stain and Iida worked through coming to terms with how he'd been seeking vengeance and that not turning to his classmates for help was wrong. Heck, Iida punched Midoriya before going to rescue Bakugou to express his frustration with him. It's not a healthy view, but it's the one that's been established for him. And thus, he is able to make an accurate guess for why Bakugou and Midoriya were fighting when others might not.**

 **Since Aoyama played such an important role in saving Tokoyami and Dark Shadow during the League of Villains Vanguard attack on the training camp, I would think that they would be friendly with each other. You know, for how easily scared he is, he comes through to help class mates incredibly often and I really like that about him.**

 **Jiro never went upstairs but she has sensitive enough hearing that she was able to hear the conversation from the third floor, so she was helping assure everyone that everything was fine and they could go back to bed.**

 **I'll leave it to your imagination which other characters came out of their rooms to see what was going on and which didn't.**

 **And the implication for Bakugou's good night sleep is that he feels safe. As mentioned in chapter 11, he's been a hostage and more recently a kidnap victim. Whether he'd let it show or not, I would think that he doesn't feel very safe right now. Kirishima bursting through his wall left physical proof that people will come to help if he is in trouble and his classmates are nearby.**

 **I've made it through the first Night. Yes! Thank you to everyone who's supported me with this story so far, be it my beta readers, the people commenting on my story, people leaving kudos/likes and Alerts/Bookmarks or people who are just silently reading and enjoying the story. I had been part of the last group for years before I started taking advantage of the other options, so I know that even if you aren't interacting beyond reading that you can still be really enjoying my story.**

 **I have started going through the chapters to make corrections and change a few words around. So far, the biggest change I've made is that in Chapter five I changed Izuku's public name for OFA from 'Strength Enhancement' to 'Super Power' since that is the canon name. I also make a note of this change at the end of the chapter. I am also doing away with references to how long you might be waiting between past chapters, since they are unnecessary now.**

 **I also expanded the descriptions on Archive of Our Own, as a result of Hmp asking if Izuku has Mild Asperger's Syndrome/Autism and if so, why I didn't mention it in the description. As someone who has Asperger's Syndrome (and currently has a special interest in Boku No My Hero Academia), I have always heavily suspected that he does. It just didn't occur for me to mention it in the description. It is there now, as a question because I don't know if I will be pursuing this in depth or not. I'll listen to your opinions to help decide whether I want to officially diagnose him or if I'll just imply it. Either way, that's still several chapters off, so plenty of time to think about it. So, if it matters to you, I am happy to listen.**

 **In celebration of getting this far (and because I want to have time to get the next set of chapters ready) I will be releasing some of my deleted scenes for the next few chapter postings before continuing my story… I figured they would be something nice to read over while you wait for me to get the next part of my story ready.**


	14. ScenesOffTheCuttingRoomFloor Preview

**All right, so, originally, I was going to post all of the deleted scenes within chapters of the story but upon reading comments, I decided to make a separate story for that. I will leave this chapter here for readers to view and decide if they are interested in the separate work I will be making from the deleted scenes from here on out. I will also post this "chapter" again as the first set of deleted scenes at the same time that I post the second set, chapters 4-7. I am calling it.**

 **Shattered Centers: Scenes off the Cutting Room Floor**

 **This is a preview to Shattered Centers: Scenes Off the Cutting Room Floor, Chapters 1-3**

 **This is the first of several sets deleted scenes that I will post as I work on Shattered Centers. Since I have already promised that I will do this, I will post the first for sets in rapid succession but make no promises about the rate that I produce future ones.**

 **Although I have these scenes posted by chapter sets, they are a generalization for where they fall in comparison to the main story's plot. When I wrote many of them, the planned story structure was very different.**

 **Some of them are shorter than others. Some are disjointed. These scenes are also a little raw, since I decided to cut them before the final product. As a result, details may be vague and characters may have slight OOC moments. There are others that I won't post at all here because they are either too similar to material in main chapters or may relate too much to future chapters. I hope you enjoy these.**

 **You may pick up on slight foreshadowing of topics I'm hoping to touch upon at some point in the future in some of these scenes, although the form of their expression will probably change from how they appear here, if they come up at all later.**

 **With that said, here are the deleted scenes Chapters 1-3 or that would fit between chapter 3 and chapter 4.**

* * *

 _ **This one takes place when Aizawa is approaching Izuku and Bakugou at the end of the fight. It got cut when I decided to look at Bakugou's POV at the end of the fight. It ends at the start of an earlier version of Aizawa's talk with Midoriya and Bakugou.**_

"Sorry, Aizawa Sensei." Izuku said, as he stood up and brushed his pants off.

He should be scared; their teacher had caught them fighting. They'd even ignored his orders to stop once he'd used his Quirk on them.

But, really, he felt absolutely calm.

Izuku glanced back down at Kacchan. He'd just pulled his knees up and was resting his forehead against them. He heard a small sniffle and realized that the boy had finally reached the stage of having a regular breakdown.

After having to go beyond the 'anger' stage for the first time in who knew how many years.

Izuku walked up to Aizawa, who had his arms crossed as he quietly stared them down. "I'm sorry, but not for breaking curfew or this fight with Kacchan. He needed to talk to someone since Kamino Ward and no one else could…" He trailed off, worried about how any ending would sound; _No one else could understand…?_ _Could take his punches?_ Neither sounded like good things to say. So instead, he continued by stating, "We both knew what we were doing and that we would get in trouble for it, but we needed to do this. What I am sorry about, is that that it meant we had to interrupt your evening."

* * *

Shota sighed, as he tried to figure out where to start. A breakdown, the exposure of a toxic relationship, and the comments about Midoriya's 'new power.' He studied the two figures before him.

Midoriya had positioned himself protectively in front of Bakugou to play distraction. For someone who cried so much, Bakugou was right about how hard the other teen could be to read. Shota doubted that all was well with the kid. He wanted to talk to Midoriya and he would. But looking between the two boys, it was clear that he could wait for a few more minutes.

Bakugou, on the other hand, was a crying wreck. Making up for Midoriya's own dry eyes, doing a poor job at hiding it, as he tucked his face from view where he was on the ground. That role reversal spoke of how serious the situation was like nothing else. The blonde boy was breaking down from not just recent events, but years of bottled up emotion. Depending on how this issue was addressed, the next few minutes could make or break him.

Shota looked back at Midoriya and said, "I'll talk to you in a moment."

He made to step around the boy.

"Aizawa Sensei," the kid said as he sidestepped to block his path again, trembling as he stood there.

Shota looked at him, Quirk active.

Midoriya flinched but stood his ground, "I know a lot of what you heard, but he's gotten better and he can't handle any more right now."

And at that moment, Shota wondered just how he could've mistaken this for a rivalry, rather than an abuser and his victim. And said victim was still willing to go to the lion's den to rescue the boy behind him. _Had done so_. If he'd known, he would never had given the two an assignment together; certainly not an exam. He was lucky that forcing them to work together had ended with them working together, because it would've been just as likely to increase the animosity between them and made the mess between them much worse.

* * *

 _ **I had multiple ideas in mind for how I wanted the confrontation with All Might to go down. Originally, I hadn't even thought about Aizawa talking to Midoriya alone first. In this version, he doesn't press on when Midoriya said he couldn't talk about his quirk because it wasn't just his secret, except to find out that All Might was the other person he was keeping it for. He sent Midoriya back to his room, just like he had Bakugou. All Might would've arrived shortly after the talk between Aizawa, Midoriya and Bakugou. No message was sent to All Might, so he had no idea what was coming.**_

"Sorry, I must have dozed off."

"That's fine." Tsukauchi I would've let you sleep longer, but we're here."

Toshinori looked out the window to see they had parked in front of 1-A's Dorm. "Oh."

Then he saw the doors swing open and out stepped Aizawa, in casual clothes, hair in a bun from which a few strands hung loose his arms crossed, and a scowl on his face.

He immediately started down the walkway toward the vehicle.

"That looks problematic," Tsukauchi stated, "you want me to come with you?"

Toshinori shook his head. "No, I've got this. It's probably just a school matter anyway."

"Take care."

"Thanks. Goodnight." He took a deep breath, before opening the car door and stepping out to face the younger hero.

As he walked up the path, the car left.

"Good evening Aizawa. What brings you out here?"

"I had to break up a fight between Midoriya and Bakugou, tonight."

Toshinori had a bad feeling. "Oh, nothing too serious, I hope."

"They'll be under house arrest for a few days, but that's not why I've been waiting for you. They brought up Midoriya's Quirk." Aizawa's back was ramrod straight as he glared at Toshinori.

Toshinori had to bite back a curse.

"After Midoriya admitted that it started immediately before the entrance exam, it brought up some questions. Especially, considering that, without ever using it, he knew how to apply it in order to take down the Zero Pointer. I cut him off before he could come up with some half-baked lie, to cover how he'd known it would work. Instead, he told me it wasn't just his secret but yours, too."

Toshinori felt his shoulders slump. He looked at Aizawa and thought about everything he'd been through defending Class 1-A and decided that, if there was anyone he could trust with the secret of One for All, it was probably him.

He took a deep breath, "This might take a little while."

"Is it something we should talk about here, or do we need the soundproofing of the Teacher's Lounge?"

With the question, Toshinori was suddenly hyperaware of the fact that there was a mole somewhere on campus.

"The Lounge."

Aizawa nodded and pulled out a set of keys from his pocket. The two men spent ten minutes walking to their destination in silence.

As they entered, Aizawa laid himself out on the couch as All Might sat in the comforter closest to his feet.

"So, what's this big secret that has Midoriya so scared to talk about?"

Toshinori took a deep breath, and began.

He told Aizawa about One for All; how it had allowed him to become the Number One Hero and the Symbol of Peace. How the power was passed from one generation to the next to fight against the greatest evil. About the injuries he sustained, and the resulting limitations on that power. And, finally, how he chose his successor.

The whole time, Aizawa was silent, the only sign of his thoughts in the tightening of his jaw.

It was only, when he finished that the man looked him in the eye.

And he saw burning anger.

All Might felt a twinge of fear run up his spine as Aizawa's eyes turned red and his hair, the strands that weren't wrapped up stood on end. He might not have a Quirk to deactivate anymore, but it was still terrifying.

"So, let me get this right: You gave Midoriya, a heroically driven Quirkless boy, a debilitatingly powerful Quirk that you knew was only going to get worse and, as an added bonus, made the kid a target for the two centuries old monster that wrecked Kamino Ward. Then, you set him loose in the exam, knowing he'd shatter himself the first time he used it and then, just let him continue stumbling along, breaking his bones left and right in his attempts to live up to your expectations."

Toshinori looked down at his hands, rather than look Aizawa in the eye.

"It does sound pretty terrible when you say it that way," he admitted, "I really did mess this up, pretty badly."

Aizawa rubbed his eyes. "I'd say that's putting it mildly."

 _ **This gets into an earlier rendition of the conversation Aizawa and All Might have Chapters 8-10.**_

* * *

 _ **When I first decided to write Izuku and Aizawa having a conversation, I was playing around with the transition from the Training Ground to the Teachers' Lounge and one version involved a walk up to the teachers' lounge. I couldn't get the scene to sync with the others in a way that would flow right, so I cut it.**_

Izuku watched as Kacchan disappeared around the corner. He looked up at Aizawa Sensei who had his phone out. Probably sending a message to All Might, to tell him what happened or have another teacher to watch the Dorm, while they were away.

"Come on, we might as well go on up."

They walked out of Testing Ground Beta, and across the school courtyard in silence, before Izuku asked, "Were you actually asleep?"

He knew actual sleep was hard for his teacher to come by. If he'd interrupted it, he'd feel terrible.

"No, I'm still not used to sleeping at night. At this hour, I'm usually out patrolling."

Izuku was suddenly hit by the realization that the Dorm system didn't just uproot the students, but the staff as well. When before, their days would end with their teaching responsibilities, has now extended to all hours of the day.

They were required to stay on campus to keep an eye on their students. Not going home or doing their normal hero duties when the day ended, but instead, sticking around to guarantee their safety. How many people could they have saved, if they didn't have to spend the time watching them?

And here Kacchan and he were, getting into a fight and causing issues for his sensei.

And now, he'd dragged both Kacchan and Aizawa into his problems.

"You really need to do something about your mumbling habit, Midoriya. It's not going to do you any favors. It gives away your location and exposes your thoughts at the same time." The sound of Aizawa's voice caused Izuku to jump. He hadn't realized how quiet his teacher had been until he spoke.

Izuku felt his cheeks burn, embarrassed both that he had been thinking aloud and his reaction when Aizawa spoke.

He focused on his feet as they continued onward.

"I'm sorry…" Izuku said. Sorry for disturbing his evening. For being part of the reason he was stuck here. For dragging him into this mess.

"Of all the people who should be apologizing for tonight, you're one of the last. You did what you had to in order to deescalate the situation. The only real mistake you made was whenever you slipped up with keeping your secret from Bakugou."

"...Then why…?"

"Because breaking the rules has consequences, no matter how 'right' it is. You of all people need to know that. Here, I can be lenient based on how good the reason behind your actions were. Out there, you won't get that luxury. And as a government employee, your drive to do what you think is right over what the rules dictate is going to be one of the biggest threats to your hero career. Especially before you establish yourself in the hero community. I saw you in the removed footage of Stain's capture. It was me that you left Kota with and gave information about targeted students after your fight with Muscular. The information that led me to grant permission for the first years to engage the Villains. I've already made it clear that I know that you were part of the group that rescued Bakugou. It's only been half a year, Midoriya, and you've already broken the law at least three times to save others. With that drive, you have the potential to be a great hero. I don't want to find you stripped of your license, because it'll mean you're resorting to Vigilantism, seeing as we both know that you won't stop trying to save people. And I sure don't want to have to chase you down and subdue you."

Izuku bit back the defense. He hadn't actually broken the law when rescuing Bakugou, but even that was by the thinnest of margins. It was only through technicalities, and loop holes.

"Still, that's not my biggest concern for tonight. We should have another two and a half years to work with you on that issue."

Izuku looked up to find that they had reached the Teacher's Lounge.

Aizawa pulled out a key and unlocked the door, letting Izuku in before he followed.

* * *

 **If you are interested in reading more of my deleted scenes, Please check out my second piece related to this story: Shattered Centers: Scenes off the Cutting Room Floor when it comes out.**


	15. Starting a New Day

**Starting a new Day**

 **Okay, so I decided to place the rest of my deleted scenes in a separate piece,** _ **Shattered Centers: Scenes off the Cutting Room Floor**_ **, but left the last chapter as is, except it's now labeled as a preview to that. That's why this is now labeled as part of a series. I have the deleted scenes up through chapter 13 posted, if you want to go check that out.**

 **I don't know if my chapters will come out any quicker than usual, despite the Coronavirus trapping me at home. If not, it's because I'm planning out ideas for the story further down the line.**

 **That does not mean, however that there will not be more frequent updates in BNMHA material. I am planning on starting a series:** _ **An Exploration of Questions**_ **in which I post material for stories I started but ultimately never completed. I will have a piece in this series devoted strictly to Boku No My Hero Academia, So between this, my deleted scenes, and that, I hope to post new material in some form at least once every two weeks for the foreseeable future.**

 **I'm also planning on going back and replacing any point where I wrote Aizawa Sensei with Mr. Aizawa at some point. I feel like either I should do the Japanese name system correctly or not at all. I am currently not comfortable enough with my understanding of the name labels to trust myself to do that so I won't risk messing it up. From here on, if you see the Sensei label it's because I missed it on removal. The only exception to this being if I ever write of Tomura Shigaraki or Kurogiri and they make a reference to/talks to All for One because that's the only name they used for him.**

* * *

*Thump-Thump. Thump-Thump. Thump-Thump.*

Toshinori's heart pounded in his ears, and his lungs burned as his legs carried him at an unforgiving pace. He knew that he was pushing his limits, but he couldn't help it.

He couldn't sleep last night. Once, he had dealt with sleepless nights by going out, activating One for All and finding people who needed help.

But now, that was no longer an option.

All Toshinori could do now was run laps. Running until the muscles in his legs screamed, and his mouth filled with a now familiar coppery taste. And then, run some more, despite knowing better.

Running, but not fast enough to escape the words.

His feet carried him down circuitous, looping trails, as his mind had done all night, before he'd given up on sleep altogether and started moving. The paths that he ran meandered, but ultimately took him back to where he began, much like his thoughts.

'From the moment you chose Midoriya… You put him in harm's way.'

And just like his mind, when Toshinori finished one round, he started another, with those words racing round his head. With each bend he took, a different point Eraser Head made popped in his head.

Different ways he failed his student. Risks that he'd taken. Pain which he'd caused. Suffering he'd either accepted or ignored.

So many ways he'd let Midoriya down.

He wasn't sure how long he'd been running, but the sun was just now starting to rise.

It was true, wasn't it? Toshinori had passed One for All onto Midoriya, with the expectation that he would be the next Pillar of Peace, complete with all the expectations, responsibilities and dangers that came with the position.

Toshinori considered his physical condition, comparing where he was now to when he started, all those years ago. It had been ravaged by not only All for One's blow, but also the toll that One for All itself had naturally taken on him.

He'd been so happy to give One for All to Midoriya, to give him the opportunity to be a true hero in body as well as spirit. To give him a chance.

The retired hero knew the dangers that came with One for All, but-…What? He had decided Midoriya was worthy of One for All. But, why had he never asked if it was fair to Midoriya to pass One for All to him? Did he deserve to have that responsibility placed on his shoulders? To be put through the pain? To inherit the risks that came with it?

And a scarier question…Would anyone worthy of One for All deserve to be exposed the problems that came with it?

Did Nana ever think, consider any of that, when she passed One for All to him?

But what was Toshinori supposed to do? Let the quirk die with him? The world still needed One for All, didn't it? That last set of questions came with a wave of guilt.

The questions left the remains of Toshinori's stomach twisting in knots.

And then, there was everything else Aizawa pointed out.

"I'm sorry, Midoriya, my boy."

He stumbled and stopped, leaning against a tree on the side of the path to catch his breath.

The thumping in his ears drowned out the sounds of the world around him. Perhaps, that's why he didn't hear the growing sound of approaching engines and, instead, only realized Tenya Iida was approaching on his own morning run when the boy rounded a corner into Toshinori's line of sight.

Toshinori tried to cover his exhaustion, not wanting to worry the student as he waved and called out, "You're getting better with your turns, Young Iida."

Iida ceased using his engines and approached Toshinori, so that he could move at a more natural running speed. He smiled as he said, "Thank you, All Might! I'm surprised you're here. Usually, I only see you on my afternoon runs." His smile suddenly disappears as he finally seems to get a good look at Toshinori. "Are you alright?"

It was at that moment that Toshinori noticed that his running shirt now had a smattering of red speckles on it. His students had sadly become aware of his tendency to cough up blood in this form. Still, he was usually self-conscious enough about it to be sure to wipe it up as quickly as possible, so they didn't have to see too much.

Today, though, Toshinori had been so lost in his own head that he hadn't spared it a single thought. Even after the initial conversation he had with the children, assuring them there was no reason for them to worry, they were still uncomfortable whenever they saw such reminders. He was probably pretty pale, too. When was the last time he drank anything? Before running, for sure.

But to Iida, he simply stated, "I'm fine. Thank you for your concern. I'm just walking to cool down and about to head back in. Don't let me take any more time from your morning run. I'll see you this afternoon for class."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Go on. I'll be fine," He smiled, one he'd often used in his larger form to reassure people after the dangers had passed and they simply needed comfort, in hopes of giving them a moment where they might believe everything was alright now, whether it was true or not.

Iida nodded, seeming to believe the smile, since he took off again.

Or so Toshinori thought. He was soon glad he'd chosen not to pick up the pace again. Rather than taking a different trail for his next lap, as he usually would, Tenya Iida came back around on the path the retired hero was on.

Then, he did it again.

And again.

Until Toshinori stopped counting somewhere around the fifth or sixth time.

Toshinori was sure that the student thought he was being subtle in his concern. He didn't feel like correcting the boy at the risk of making him feel guilty. The boy was just watching out for Toshinori, after all.

Finally, the man arrived back at the school. It was only as he walked back toward the dorms that the student continued on his usual route. He sighed as he stepped into the teachers' building.

He had to get ready for the day.

* * *

Shota cracked his eyes open and instantly regretted it. Despite still being tired, the man knew once he started thinking first thing in the morning, there was no point trying to go back to sleep.

And after last night, his mind had plenty to work with. Not just the mess surrounding damaged school property and Problem Children, as if that wasn't enough. Issues both personal and worldwide, ghosts of present and… Past. Painful past.

Shota wasn't sure when he fell asleep, but he knew he'd gotten less rest than he needed. Heck, he probably could get a full night's sleep and still be exhausted, after yesterday evening.

Shota had set his alarm earlier than usual, but he had woken up ten minutes before it had gone off. Ten minutes he would never get back to rest.

There was a room in each student dorm for the on-duty staff. One teacher was expected to be in each student building, and the rest would stay in staff housing. They were supposed to swap out the on-duty person each week, giving their coworkers breaks and an opportunity to be themselves away from the eyes of their students. 'Supposed to' were the key words here. Shota had taken up permanent residence in the space, accepting that his students were destined for trouble and was determined to be there when it came knocking. Now, with his newfound knowledge about Midoriya being involved in a war with the darkest forces of Japan, he felt even more justified in planting himself right in his students' dorm. More confident that they were at risk of future attacks.

If his coworkers wanted to swap duties with him, they would have to physically pry him out in order to evict him. Then, they'd have to remember that there were empty rooms on the top floor so they could plan accordingly, because he'd use his capture weapon to scale the damn building if that's what it took to stay in the building with his students.

This class' craziness was rubbing off on him. There was no denying it anymore… At least, not to himself.

 _What would Shirakumo think, if he could see me, now_? Shota smiled at the bittersweet thought. In many ways, Midoriya reminded Shota of him. They had that same determination to help anyone who needed it, consequences be damned.

Shota sighed, got up and started preparing for the day. There was a lot to do. He was thankful for his own kitchenette separate from the main dorm as he brewed his coffee and popped a couple pieces of bread in the toaster.

While eating breakfast, he took time to send an email to Mrs. Midoriya in order to request a meeting. If he didn't get a response by this evening, he'd make a phone call. He wanted to get that conversation out of the way, as quickly as possible.

Shota packed up his laptop, grabbed his rolled up sleeping bag, despite knowing he wouldn't use it nearly as much as he wanted to today, and passed through the main dorm. He passed Uraraka in the living room, stretching in preparation for early morning exercises. She usually wasn't up as early as Midoriya or Iida, but was still one of the early risers, getting some exercise in before coming into class.

As he walked to the school, he spotted Iida on his morning run and expected the boy to wave as he passed. Instead, he came to a halt and expressed his concern for All Might, even as he expressed being guilty for getting into a teacher's business.

Shota thanked the boy for informing him.

Shota supposed he should've expected something like that from All Might. He was glad that the man was clearly thinking about what he said but punishing himself like that would solve nothing. Furthermore, if there was anything that All Might should have a solid grasp on, it is the importance of presentation. The man had probably lost track of himself, but hopefully, seeing Iida was enough to remind him where he was.

Shota didn't much care for his physical appearance, but he sure as hell would never let them see him emotionally compromised. Last night, he'd been walking the knifes edge of that rule with Bakugou and Midoriya. He hadn't realized how close until Midoriya gave HIM a hug for comfort.

The crux of it was, that last night could've been easily avoided. Along with so much more. He'd already talked to one of the top people who could've done something to stop it. Now, he was going to meet with the next.

* * *

 **And so the morning begins! I'm excited to dive right into this stage of the story. There will be more conversations ahead but also sections where other stuff is happening, too.**

 **All Might's run almost completed itself on my first draft.**

 **Uraraka has proven to be the type of person to devote herself to becoming a hero every chance she gets. I could see her using the time she used to have to spend travelling from wherever she was living to the school to train, rather than sleeping in.**

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Stay safe and well.**


	16. Reflections

**Reflections**

 **So, fun story, this chapter was originally going to come later but I decided that it fit better here for the story line. I was frustrated with the length of the chapter I originally had at this point but by rearranging some things, I was able to make this fit well and still flow nicely.**

* * *

Shoto stared up at his ceiling. He wasn't sure how long he'd been awake, but almost immediately after opening his eyes, he'd found himself thinking about last night… Well, not just last night.

It would be more accurate to say he was thinking about Midoriya and Bakugou, and their supposed friendship. He'd always been confused by it, but figured maybe, since he wasn't very experienced with relationships of any type, with the exception of his sister Fuyumi, he just couldn't grasp theirs.

But last night, Shoto watched how Midoriya always maintained at least a step behind Bakugou and how he'd flinched when the other had raised his voice.

Todoroki immediately found both all too familiar. Honestly, he was angry that he didn't see it before.

He'd lived with something similar all his life. It wasn't so bad on most days, where he just had to keep up his training while Natsuo and Fuyumi stayed out of the Old Man's way. On bad days, though, it meant an intense training for him and an expectation that the house would be in perfect order for the others.

It was also a time when he could expect to need Fuyumi's help to treat his injuries. That is, if he wasn't pushed to the point of dangerous dehydration beforehand, as it was the biggest weakness of his Quirk when he used both sides.

Always, at the end of these training sessions, his father would berate him for being weak, but would then follow up with several noticeably easier sessions in the next few days. Sometimes they even focused on things other than his Quirk—like situational awareness, on site first aid, or methods for disabling opponents when he couldn't rely on his Quirk to do so.

Shoto came to realize that these sessions were the closest that the man would ever come to an apology. Still, it didn't stop the terrible training sessions from happening. It left Shoto distrustful of Endeavor's unpredictable moods at home. For a time, Shoto's wariness had even outweighed his anger at his old man. Despite being furious at the man for what he'd done to his mother, Shoto still fought to live up to his standards at first, hoping it would keep the other calm. Maybe a little more than just calm, he admitted begrudgingly. For a time, he assumed he wasn't learning fast enough. He'd tried so hard to keep up with his father's demands.

Suffice to say, Shoto finally realized it was his father's fault, not his. He came to understand that the man would never see him as anything but as means to surpass All Might. Almost overnight, he went from wanting to please the man to wanting to spite the hero. Starting by switching to only using what he saw as his mother's Quirk.

Midoriya feared Bakugou.

The smell of something smoldering broke his train of thought. He sat up to find there were a couple of flat, shiny, discolored spots on the left-hand side and a thin film of frost where his right hand had been resting.

Shoto bit his lip as he clenched and unclenched his fists. Finally, he calmed enough that the temperatures of his sides settled back down to their norm.

There was one silver lining, though.

It looked like Bakugou hadn't found Midoriya's breaking point, yet.

Most people had one, he was sure. He'd blocked his Quirk, Natsuo had left, and his mother… Shoto brought his hand to his left eye, fingering where the texture changed, marking the border between normal skin and scar tissue.

Midoriya didn't seem to have that hatred he'd come to recognize from his family and himself when they reached that point.

Maybe Midoriya was more like Fuyumi, in that regard. At this point, she had dealt with their father longer than their mother had before she… _reached her limit_ … and his sister was still going strong.

Except…

He remembered Midoriya's face as he flew past him on a piece of shrapnel to claim victory in the first round of the UA tournament after his challenge in the locker room. He remembered Midoriya standing across from him in the arena, fingers busted and a big challenging smile on his face after his discussion and confrontation beneath the stands.

…No. No, he wasn't like Fuyumi.

Izuku had snapped under the pressure in a different way. One Shoto probably didn't recognize because he'd never seen it before. He wasn't even sure how. But he could easily picture the furious determination in the other boy's eyes.

How could someone even be that angry without being hateful?

Midoriya had very likely been pushed to that point and reacted differently than anyone in the Todoroki family.

Bakugou had something to do with why Midoriya was like that. Shoto was certain.

He clenched his fists at the thought of how the explosive blonde was still pushing. He was doing it in plain view of everyone and no one was doing a thing about it.

No one even acknowledged it.

How had it taken Shoto so long to recognize it for what it was?

Shoto threw his legs over the side of his bed, stood up and started getting ready for the day. Well, Midoriya had been there to help him when he didn't even know he needed it. Maybe, he could do the same for his friend.

He didn't know how, though. He didn't even understand what was messed up with him.

Now that he thought about it… How much did he really know about Midoriya?

The bright-eyed boy was always getting into everyone else's business, seeing what was wrong so he could try to make it better. He got the distinct impression that if he had never told the greenette about his family problems, the boy would've gone digging to find out and invite himself to help, eventually. Like he did with Kota.

But what about Midoriya himself?

Had he really been looking at everyone's personal issues, without letting anyone see his?

Shoto frowned, trying to think of anything he knew. Anything at all.

And drew a blank.

His frown deepened.

He understood the pattern of hiding the past. Midoriya had been the first person he'd ever opened up to about his own, after all. For all his anger and tunnel vision during the tournament, he'd still trusted Midoriya, a competitor that he'd publicly challenged, enough to talk about his childhood. Somehow, he had known he could trust the other boy with that.

Maybe, despite Midoriya's friendliness, some part of Shoto somehow recognized someone else who was hiding anger, masking it with smiles and misdirection rather than choosing to bury all his emotions and keeping his distance.

Shoto thought about Midoriya's med kits that he'd been thankful for since he had increased his training in combat as well as his Quirk. His performance during the Sports Festival had highlighted just how reliant he was on his Quirk even when he had only been using half of it.

Midoriya was more experienced with self-application of medical supplies than he was. That much was obvious. And that should had been a warning sign in and of itself. Now that he thought about it, despite the greenette's own offers of assistance, he hadn't asked once.

In fact, the only times he'd seen Midoriya ask for help was during villain attacks and that usually involved helping someone else who was in danger.

When he finally walked downstairs, Midoriya and Bakugou were already vacuuming the floors. He noticed that the green haired boy was behind the blonde, always keeping a subtle eye on him.

Perhaps, under different circumstances, Shoto would've been concerned with how Bakugou would be able to attend license training. But, after his revelations, he wasn't sure he could find it in himself to care. His level of apathy wasn't quite what he reserved for his father. At least, not yet.

But, finally noticing Midoriya's behavior toward the blond—even now, the green haired boy kept his shoulders slumped and head low—Shoto couldn't help feeling more detached.

And that Midoriya had been hiding this and more, all of this time, left him feeling… Well, he didn't really know how he felt.

So, rather than talk to either of them, he got ready and left, giving Midoriya a simple nod of acknowledgement and Bakugou a cold glance. He vowed that if he saw any unexplained marks on Midoriya in the next few days, whatever the two did last night would look like a crack in the sidewalk by comparison to what he'd do with Bakugou.

* * *

For a short while after everyone filed out to head for class, there was silence. Well, except for the sounds of vacuums across the common area carpets.

Izuku thought about Kacchan, who now knew his secret. Who would have to bear the weight of it.

Kacchan interrupted his spiraling thoughts. "You know, about your shoot style."

Carful to keep his voice steady, keeping his back to Kacchan, Izuku asked, "What about it?"

After a moment of silence, the other teen said, "Your wind-up motions are too big. Even with your speed up, I was barely able to react in time. It's not well suited for a slug fest."

"Is that so?" Izuku asked.

Bakugo gave a single nod. "And it looked like you were getting ready to throw a punch toward the end. Were you?"

"...Yeah."

"It wouldn't have fit in with it either. There's a good chance it would've cost you the fight. I would've been pissed to win because of something as lousy as a random bad plan from you."

"...Thanks, I guess." Izuku frowned, trying to think of some advice he could give for what he'd seen while they were fighting without Quirks. He decided to settle on something he'd been thinking about after last night. "You should consider learning how to fight without explosions. This year, we've gotten a teacher who can suppress Quirks and seen a villain who can take them. Who knows how many other Quirks are out there that can leave us functionally Quirkless? I think if either of us are going to make it to be the number one hero, we'll have to learn to fight with or without our Quirks."

Izuku heard Kacchan growl in frustration, causing him to brace for some scathing remark. Instead, the other boy replied, "You're probably right. I did a crap job fighting you after Aizawa used his Quirk. Couldn't do a damn thing." He snorted as he added, "Kind of served me right."

Izuku opened his mouth to try to comfort the other boy, but snapped his jaws shut, knowing it would only get him angry.

Kacchan filled his silence by adding, "You shouldn't have stopped. Don't do it again. It was bad enough to get a hollow win against Half n' Half when he did that in the tournament. You can't be pulling that kind of shit, too."

"What if you're at a disadvantage? What if I'm winning, because I'm using a weakness?"

Kacchan stopped and looked directly at him. "I have never held back because I found a weakness. I pressed harder at it. You know that better than anyone."

Izuku tensed at the statement. He most certainly did know. Kacchan had made that point for years without ever having to say it aloud.

"I want my opponents to give me the same. If you see a way to annihilate me in a fight, fucking take it. For me and for anyone else you're fighting. You hear me?"

Izuku looked down at the ground. "I-I hear you. I'll k-keep f-f-fighting next time." That was the most he could promise.

Kacchan paused for a moment. Izuku felt a moment of terror, worried that the other boy had noticed the loophole he'd left himself. But then, he went back to vacuuming and that was that. He hadn't picked up on it. At least for now.

Izuku thought to himself as his mind flashed back to notes in his analysis journals. The difference for if Kacchan deciding to destroy someone and if he ever did so…Kacchan would just thought of how to beat them, Izuku's ideas would be…

Izuku clenched his teeth, as images related to weaknesses come to mind… Explosive sweat that could seep through cuts made into palms and exploding within upon ignition and ruined, sensitive wing joints that could easily be yanked and permanently damaged, frail extended finger bones that could easily be snapped like twigs… A possible finger mangling or removal with a quick burst of One For All, with the price of Izuku scratching grooves along his own neck.

There had even been part of him that was worried the Sludge Villain's eye would be permanently ruined when the threw his backpack at it… He'd half expected the malice filled orb to burst, but it was worth the risk in order to save Kacchan.

Honestly, they were the first kinds of thoughts he had when threatened by someone before trying to work his way down to more reasonable strategies. Izuku was terrified by the idea of what would happen if he ever acted without a plan.

He had nightmares about it. Detailed nightmares that could only be soothed if he wrote them out of his head and into his notebooks.

Maybe he could convince Mr. Aizawa not to read anything unless he showed him. He'd never thought about people reading his books before last night. Now, the more he considered what he had in them, the more he cringed at the idea of anyone else seeing them.

* * *

 **While I don't want to overplay how horrible a person Endeavor is, I also don't want to underplay him, either. This is a man who isolated his five-year-old son and hurt him bad enough that he threw up. He also slapped his wife when she tried to protect Shoto and drove her crazy (although she was the one who threw the boiling water on Shoto's face, meaning he wasn't the only awful parent here). He viewed Shoto as his creation. So, while the man may not be one of the greatest monsters in the show, I also refuse to hold my punches. He was an abusive husband and father and the series doesn't try to hide it. He may be trying to become a better person but that does not undo his past.**

 **Also, to anyone reading this down the road, if extra details are revealed about the Todoroki family that conflict with how I write this here, keep in mind that it's the middle of the Heroes vs Paranormal Liberation front War Arc in the Manga. One of the most likely places this could happen is when we find out the story of what happened to Da…erm, excuse me…Touya Todoroki, who I totally think almost definitely passed away tragically and will totally not turn out to be a familiar, scarred, Stain follower who joined the League of Villains.**

 **On a different topic, I've got a head canon that Izuku has the mental capacity to have vicious ideas in relations to people's weaknesses but it's his morals and his drive to protect people that keep him from acting on them in a dangerous way. That side of him is there but heavily controlled. One of his vents for such thoughts is his notebook. I picture the tendency as part of an old emotional fight within himself that occurred as he thought about whether he should retaliate against his bullies and how he should go about doing that. Although I picture it ultimately ending with Izuku choosing to feed his anger into his determination, at one point, hatred and vengeance might have come close to winning the day. Luckily, he had his mom to cry with and vent his emotions to, as well.**

 **So now, instead, he pushes himself to the breaking point, determined to reach his goal and pushing further when someone needs help or when people challenge him. Honestly, it's a weakness of Izuku's that he won't back out of a challenge, using actions far more often than words to do so. Some examples: His whole childhood; his confrontation with Bakugou on the second day; part of the reason behind his confrontations during the tournament arc; his reason for accepting Nighteye's Work Study. Despite all his internalized questioning his worth, whenever someone else questions it directly, he smiles one of the world's scariest smiles and then makes his move.**


	17. Dangerous Intelligence

**Dangerous Intelligence**

Katsuki had noticed that Deku hadn't promised to go all out but he'd also seen the other boy's haunted eyes.

There was a reason Deku's mumbling pissed him off. He had always done it and there was no filter for them.

Now, when saying Deku's words were unfiltered, it was in a totally different way than Katsuki's. No, he wouldn't have a problem with that. To be honest, Deku was always frustratingly polite, if he talked to anyone at all.

It was the Quirk related crap which he broadcasted, that was the problem.

Katsuki would be lying if he claimed that he didn't learn anything from Deku's absentminded chatter. It was in part because of it that Katsuki had learned to self-analyze Explosion and come up with new ideas for applying it. This was actually part of the way that he learned how to study both his Quirk and his surroundings for his plans.

Even as he learned to figure shit out for himself, new ideas still would come from the Deku Peanut Gallery, especially while he was scribbling in those notebooks. Deku never seemed to realize that the first time Katsuki had used his Quirk to fly happened shortly after he'd mumbled about it.

Even when he spouted this helpful shit, it annoyed Katsuki that Deku sometimes seemed more knowledgeable about Explosion than he was. Katsuki was the one who had the Quirk. No one was going to know it better than him! Sure as hell not the quirkless loser!

Looking back, he supposed that Deku's analysis would have probably pissed him off for that reason, alone. Even as he'd also spurred Katsuki to work on Explosion, if only to ensure that no one understood his Quirk better than him.

But Deku didn't just mumble about ways Katsuki could apply his Quirk. That wasn't even the most infuriating part.

No, because Deku also brought up some really creepy shit, sometimes. The type that gave Katsuki nightmares. Katsuki hated hearing his weaknesses and how they might be used against him.

It was frustrating and often drew the dividing line between Katsuki being annoyed by his presence and being absolutely done with his shit. He wasn't going to listen to that crap but he certainly wasn't going to just ditch Deku to spout it for every passerby to hear.

And it seemed like the more he did to Deku and the harder he shoved him away, the more the other boy's mumbling would shift from stuff he actually might have wanted to hear to weaknesses and how they could be used to incapacitate him and the rest of their group… Often in brutal detail.

Any idiot who thought Deku was all sunshine and rainbows must be blind and deaf.

And then the guilty look on Deku's face when he realized what he was thinking, like he could ever actually be capable of hurting them. Like they would be too weak to stop him if he tried.

Like he was scared he could bring the nightmares he gave to Katsuki into reality.

So, yeah, it certainly had fed his belief that Deku had looked down on them.

It pissed Katsuki off, when they were little. This Quirkless NOBODY, thinking he could rub shoulders with him and choosing not to.

Not that Katsuki would have let him have the pleasure. The thought had just made him want to blast him all the more. Sometimes he did, too. He'd often gone out of the way to make sure to remind Deku that he was just that: _a useless nothing_.

Looking back now, fighting the wave of self-disgust, he now understood that Deku wasn't looking down on them… But that didn't change the fact that those observations he made about their weaknesses had been disturbing and that only gotten more accurate over time. Sure, it applied for everything else he mumbled about too, but it was that which stood out the most. Sometimes, rather than feeling offended that Deku assumed he could hurt people if he wanted—which he clearly didn't—Katsuki felt his gut twist with unease.

Never scared, because who would be afraid of quirkless, uselesless Deku? But unsettled, nonetheless.

Despite what he just said to the nerd about not holding back, he understood that, unlike him, Deku had to draw a carefully held line for himself. While Katsuki screamed about killing his opponents, Deku had to quietly remind himself to be careful or he would.

And there'd be no mercy for any poor bastard that might ever shove him beyond that line.

* * *

Nezu looked out of the window of his room at the brightening sky.

From outside, his personal space was hardly distinguishable from any other, so high up. But the space behind this window was hardly the open room that the pane of glass would leave a distant onlooker to believe. Sections of the window were walled off, only a few rooms and small halls actually giving him a view out to the campus below; his size allowing him to make two floors out of the space, rather than one.

It was amazing how the lack of spatial awareness most humans possessed allowed for Nezu to claim huge spaces without any questions asked. Of all the humans who caught on that there was a conference room sized spaces that went unused on the building map – _not even considering the average space between the walls of each room_ – most were also smart enough not to question just what Nezu was doing with it.

Most humans would consider the dimensions of his home 'cramped' and would be very likely feel claustrophobic in it, but Nezu took comfort in the smaller spaces graced with dimmer, gentler lighting than that provided by the buzzing florescent bulbs humans had installed in most buildings. A good place to escape to when Nezu was finished in the open, exposed, unnaturally lit rooms that he spent his days working in.

Right now, he was sitting in the second largest room of his home, a combination of living room and kitchenette. He was sitting in his comforter, watching the sun rise.

Dawn was Nezu's favorite time of day. He loved watching the slow change of dark to light as color flooded into the world and the gradual rise in temperature that came with it, thanks to a star millions of miles away.

For someone who's whole world could once be measured in meters that were cordoned off by walls, it was often overwhelming to think about such open distances.

Nezu flicked the end of his tail as he slowly released a breath, just enjoying the moment.

He liked dusk too, but more often than not, he was too busy working at that time of day to give it any more than his passing attention.

He gazed off to the buildings beyond the school's walls. As beautiful as it was, he wondered what it must look like to humans, who could see an entire extra set of colors compared to him.

He watched the dorms, where most of the students were probably just starting to stir, although he would occasionally catch a glimpse of a small figure here or there already out and about.

Some people would probably think he was crazy for choosing to live in the building where he worked, such people clearly missed a very important fact.

Nezu wasn't human.

That meant that living in a society of humans was dangerous. Many couldn't even accept members of their own kind. How could he expect them to accept him?

Because of this understanding, Nezu had made sure to move behind the walls of the 'unbreachable fortress' that was UA at the earliest possible point in his professional career that he could manage. As such, over the years, he had been careful to continually update the security system. He had worked off the principle that, if he didn't think it was good enough to keep him safe from the rest of the world, it wasn't good enough to protect his students, either. To say that he would be willing to stake his life on it wasn't just a figure of speech. He did so in a very literal sense of the words.

He was careful to take every opportunity he could to add another layer to the security. Did they really think he installed an army of robots just for the purpose of training? The kids that tore through them demonstrated the upper extreme of what Quirks could. Most wouldn't make a dent in them.

Just look at the number of kids who didn't take a point in the exam!

Of course, Nezu knew that there were problems with that approach for testing students. The hero commission was infuriatingly insistent, though. He'd barely been able to win the argument for the deactivation buttons as an alternative and they weren't exactly easy to reach.

So, if they couldn't serve as fair training equipment, he'd make sure they doubled as great security to keep the students safe. One command from him and they switched modes, those deactivation buttons disconnected from the circuits and the weaponry becoming far more effective.

Next year, he was going to have a set of them as 'training equipment' in every building too. He was even setting up a set of them to act as 'makeshift civilians' during rescue training. He refused to allow another USJ to happen on school grounds. Not while he was head of UA.

Suddenly, Nezu was distracted from his thoughts by a sound, causing him to look down the hall behind him, ears raised. There was a knock on the wall from deeper within, a section of hallway that paralleled one of the school's main ones, and Aizawa's voice from the other side demanding a meeting.

Even as surprised as he was that Aizawa was here so early, he wasn't surprised that the man knew where his home was, despite not really broadcasting its location. Not much got past him.

It was one of many things that Nezu liked about him.

Curious, Nezu rose from where he was seated and went over to a ladder that came out of a hole in the floor of the room and ran up into one in the ceiling. As he ascended and left the room behind, the rungs, instead of being in one wall, ran along all sides. As he reached an opening, he crawled into a hallway, hardly giving the section of ladder that ascended into the darkness above a second glance. As he made his way down the narrow hall toward his office, he passed one of the robots that doubled as audio recorders and cleaners.

Quickly, he slipped out of a space that led into what looked like a cabinet; a wooden cabinet ̶ _Nezu tried to avoid metal boxes or anything that could make a metal on metal clang because of the memories they triggered_ ̶ but was actually his 'front door.'

He turned the knob and stepped out into the main room, closing and locking the door behind him. Nezu swiped a remote from his desk as a low volume but high pitch beeping sounded, too high for most human ears, too quiet for even Hound Dog to hear unless he were in the room. With a press of a button, it fell silent. He hardly needed his proximity alarm to know he had company.

With that taken care of, Nezu quickly opened the door to find Aizawa standing there, leaning against the wall. Stiff, clearly angry but trying to maintain control.

"Good morning!" Nezu called out perkily, "What brings you here so early?" It was probably something to do with the fight last night. Nezu had figured he would check the footage this morning, trusting that Aizawa to be able to handle the situation and reach out to him if he was needed.

Although Nezu was careful to keep an eye on everything, the mammal had long found it was best to let the teachers take care of their students themselves unless his presence proved absolutely necessary. Of course, once he did step in, he tended to overdo things and had to exercise careful restraint, lest he start micromanaging.

"Midoriya told me the tale of the traveling quirk last night."

And with that one statement, Nezu knew that it was going to be an interesting day.

* * *

 **So, I think that Bakugou has always secretly been both jealous and afraid of Izuku's skills and this fed his anger at him. I don't think Izuku's notebook was a random target by any stretch of the imagination in the beginning of the season, while Bakugou is tearing Izuku down. That notebook represents everything about Izuku that 'pisses him off.'**

 **Once again, I was having trouble writing this upcoming conversation out until I swapped POVs. So now, you not only get to see things through Nezu's perspective, but this scene beforehand where he is starting his morning. And I am glad I did. Thanks to how little we know about him, he was a very flexible character to write and I had fun.**

 **I couldn't help but think of how Nezu described himself with references to dogs, bears and mice and wanted to reflect a unique being that might arise from that. I also wanted something to reflect his intelligence and controlling nature. Thus, his home became a series of tight spaces with a few comfortable openings. With further halls extending throughout UA full surveillance equipment, which I might have fun with later. I have plans for that.**

 **I also tried to think of how his genius would fit into his work at UA. Now I've got a Genius, living in a fortress, who used 'training hero students' as an excuse to build his own robot army…and that's not even accounting for the fact that his hero course has kids which tested as the best of thousands and trained heroes of many types, all of which are skilled enough to handle such children. I suspect that the robot training army will never be used beyond child training in the series but there's no proof that they don't double as an active security measure yet and it isn't out of character for Nezu to set them up like this, so I'm running with it. Nezu is scary and I love it.**

 **The perimeter sensors was an idea I got from reading another fanfiction: Deku? I Think He's Some Sort of Pro by myheadinthecloudsnotcomingdown on . I'd recommend reading that and the other stories from the 'For The Want of a Nail' series, especially if you like Quirkless Izuku stories.**


	18. Talk and Tea

**Talk and Tea**

"Come in, Aizawa," Nezu invited, pulling the door wider and gesturing with his free paw. He gave the man a polite smile, feeling his facial muscles make their usual complaints that came with making an expression they were never meant to support. "Would you like some tea?"

"I'll pass," Aizawa stated as he closed the door, the refusal further expressing his obvious displeasure. This man was one of the few who would ever turn down his 'offer', and only when he was extremely upset.

"Well," Nezu replied. "Let me know if you change your mind, as I'm going to brew some for myself," he declared, walking over to a small space in a connecting room specifically made for the purpose, leaving the door wide open behind him. "So, Midoriya told you about One for All last night?" the principal queried politely.

"After Bakugou brought it up with him, while they were working through their bully/victim relationship and I was in hearing range." He frowned and added, "In all honesty, if I hadn't found out about this, I would've been in here later today to discuss the cause of fight, itself."

"It sounds like you have quite a bit to discuss with me. No wonder you were knocking on my wall." Of the staff who figured out his home's location, most wouldn't dare disturb him there, at the risk of being so buried beneath sudden piles of paperwork desperately needing their reviews and signatures so high that it would take them months to get through it all.

Not that Nezu was going to do that, this time. He understood why Aizawa would be upset.

"Since we're on the topic of walls, there's now a hole in the one between Bakugou's room and Kirishima's. It seems that at least one of my students are prone to PTSD related panic attacks. Actually, most of them left their dorms to make sure there wasn't a villain attack. Weren't you announcing during the press conference, that you would be doing something for them?"

Nezu felt his perfect smile slip into a more natural position.

"I did."

And while Nezu was juggling quite a few more balls than normal, what with the public outrage, the hero commission looking for somewhere to lay blame, the concerned parents considering the withdrawal of their children from the school for safety reasons and the construction of the dorms. That was not the ball to be dropping, though.

"I'd like my students' needs to be met. If you don't plan for assessments, I'll go to Hound Dog myself."

"No, I said I'd take care of it," Nezu stated and stood as the kettle began to whistle, walking over to set it on a tray and turn off the small stove as he said, "It's my responsibility." Besides, Aizawa was busy enough, anyway.

As Nezu left the tea to boil and came back, he noticed that Aizawa relaxed slightly as some of the anger left him, making him look more tired than anything. He clearly needed more sleep, although that declaration would be hypocritical, coming from Nezu right now. His own coat was thin and coarse, compared to how it had been at the beginning of the year, due to the constant stress he had been under. Sometimes, he was amazed that his staff didn't notice every time they saw him. Of course, then he remembered that humans usually don't look for those kinds of indicators when searching for signs of distress.

"Now that we've addressed the students in general," Nezu stated, "I'm sure there is a lot you want to talk about in relation to One for All."

"Yeah, I do. How about we start with what you were thinking? Placing Midoriya in my care, without telling me anything?"

"Habit."

"'Habit'?" Shota asked, voice tense. "Is that all you have to say?"

"I honestly wish I could give you a better answer," Nezu replied. "How much do you know?"

"Everything that Midoriya and All Might could tell me." He frowned and added, "Although, I'm surprised only All Might mentioned you. I would think you'd at least want to keep a closer eye on the latest owner of that Quirk."

Nezu sighed and said, "To be honest, I'm not too keen on All Might's choice." He gave up all efforts of his forced smile as he continued, "I offered a group of students who had already chosen the heroic path in life. He gave that Quirk to a boy and took the choice away during one of the most critical times in a child's time for making such decisions for their futures. Now, Midoriya is trapped in an obligation that, I fear, he was too young to understand. I've avoided the boy in part, because I don't want to take any of my frustration out on him. It wouldn't be right. So, I chose avoidance, which isn't all that difficult, considering how busy we've all been this year."

"And you just trusted All Might to handle Midoriya?"

"I trusted that he would know his Quirk and would come to me if he was having any major problems."

"I don't suppose you said that out loud to him."

"He's a UA teacher, he should know…" Nezu trailed off at the look on Aizawa's face.

All of Nezu's behavior around humans was learned mostly after he'd been liberated from the lab where he'd grown up. Because he'd long since developed his tricks for overcoming most of his hurdles in learning proper social behavior, today he could fool most of the public. It had gotten to the point where many forgot that he wasn't just a human with a 'mutation'. Still, from time to time, things slipped through, like stray food knocked through the floor of a cage and lost to the tray below.

Aizawa was one of the few people who'd quickly caught on to that fact. He also, would let Nezu know when he messed up, once they had a private moment to discuss it. This was in part because he tended to be blunt and, partially, because Nezu had expressly stated that he wanted the other to let him know.

Aizawa was giving him a look, now that said he was missing something important. "Just because someone is good at something, it doesn't mean they're qualified to teach it. As someone who is good at both and sequesters himself in an environment full of teachers, I guess it's understandable that you might forget that from time to time."

"I try to find the line between knowing I'm smarter than most humans, but not forgetting that you're generally capable enough of solving problems for yourselves. It's always possible that I miscalculated. I take it from your look that this was one of those times."

"Yes," Aizawa stated. "Considering All Might's lack of credentials for teaching, you should've, at least, checked."

"I see. Is there anything else you want to ask about the Quirk, itself?"

"I don't suppose All Might mentioned that One for All can play memories of previous users into the current one's mind?"

Nezu felt his fur momentarily stand on end. "It what…?"

"Oh, and it gets even more interesting. During the tournament, when Midoriya broke Shinsou's control, he apparently saw the previous users of One for All. All Might saw them once before, too. They had a disagreement about the level of influence the previous users had on Midoriya's escape from Brainwash. Midoriya was insistent that they were the ones to break the control, while All Might was sure that that seeing them probably just inspired him, reassuring the boy by letting him know that he's seen them, too."

"So, we have a Quirk with a mental influence on users and carries _something_ from previous users, possibly even some level of their consciousness."

"And may still hold connections with All Might, maybe extracting that _something_ and will probably take whatever that is from Midoriya, if transferred again." He frowned before adding, "If not sooner."

Nezu watched intently, his stillness itself relaying his own worry. "That is… concerning."

"That's putting it mildly. Midoriya might be hosting echoes of past people, a conglomerate of human consciousness or a never-ending conference of the dead led by All for One's little brother somewhere in his head. And it might be either working toward collecting something from him, or possibly has already added him to the collection." Shota grit his teeth. "It's absolutely terrifying."

Nezu heard a whistle, indicating the tea was done boiling and gestured for Aizawa to continue, as he went to prepare the tray.

"Related to that, I'm also worried about how deep the mental influence of the Quirk runs and if the influence increases with time. People are drawn toward situations where their Quirks will get expressed and all living things tend to do whatever it takes to survive. All Might is hardly the type of person who would make a decision that would harm a person or place them in danger, yet there's no hesitation at the idea of passing on a Quirk he knew would do both to but, if he were to withhold it, the Quirk would die with him."

"You're concerned that One for All conditioned All Might to its favor and will do the same to Midoriya." Nezu returned with his tray. Rather than choosing something for the whole pot, Nezu had selected a set of tea bags, hoping the gesture of giving Aizawa some choice — of so clearly allowing him a level of control — would help further calm him. The man understood better than most when he made such gestures, as when he took an interest in anything, he became the micromanager he wished to avoid being by trying to allow his staff to handle their own issues first. It was a silent invitation for Aizawa to continue to lead the conversation.

"I don't know. For all I know, there might be no self-driven intentions within One for All and the Quirk might not go beyond communication with its users, but I like to consider the worst-case scenario, just in case."

"It's a trait that's served you well up to now," Nezu stated. "If it makes you feel better, from what All Might has told me, Users always tended to choose their successors based on their character, when they had the option. Chances are, if anything of their consciousness is in the Quirk, they'll probably act with Midoriya's best interest in mind."

Aizawa didn't seem too relieved by the statement.

Nezu's whiskers twitched as he added, "Still, I'll need to find some way to set up a monitoring system. A shame we don't have any Quirk experts in our circle. I'm sure with enough research I might…"

At that, Aizawa smiled like a cat that just caught a canary, as he finally selected a bag to place in his cup. "I have someone in mind for that."

Nezu grabbed the kettle, and poured the hot water into Aizawa's cup before his own, "And who might that be?"

* * *

 **So, I find it odd that, as important as OFA seemed in the series, Nezu has next to no interaction with Izuku at all, let alone talking to him about the Quirk, itself. I'd think he'd at least want to keep up with Midoriya's progress more directly or find out the temperament of the current user or…something. This is the explanation I came up with that seems reasonable and fits into my story.**

 **That being said; Hey look, a person can disagree with another's choice without being hostile to the subject of said choice and not try to force their own will on the situation. Are such concepts really so hard for a mature adult to grasp, Sir Nighteye?**


	19. Sips and Schemes

**Sips and Schemes**

Nezu stared down at the papers that Shota had presented; Midoriya's analysis from last night. He grabbed the cup of tea that he'd placed off to the side, now properly steeped in the time since Shota had handed over his student's notes and started talking about the boy's unnoticed talent. Although the principal had yet to say a word or maybe in part because of that, Shota knew that he was interested.

"Self-taught?" Nezu finally echoed back after he'd placed the cup down, as if making sure he hadn't misheard.

"Midoriya informed me that he has a whole series of notebooks full of hero analyses to vouch for it. He has them in his room. Ill be collecting them this evening and wanted to request something to place them in. Perhaps a safe, or…"

"Oh, I think I can find a space somewhere upstairs for something of this quality."

Shota wasn't completely sure he should be surprised. Much of the upper floors of UA's main building were not used for educational purposes, but more sensitive information and projects that were not common knowledge. "I don't want to deprive Midoriya of access to them…"

"Oh, I was thinking of setting up a room for him to better practice honing his skills and keeping his notes there. Plus, we have so much training footage just sitting in storage, unused and I'm sure there's a more than a few old alumni who wouldn't mind seeing the results of practice analyses on their Quirks… After all, official ones are so very expensive. Of course, he has more potential than that which should be tapped into. I'm considering that empty room across the hall from the area I set up for you." One of the carrots Nezu had waved for Aizawa to join UA was a safe place to keep information for and work on more sensitive assignments he took up for his underground work.

Shota felt a headache coming on. "Were you saving that room for something like this?"

"If I found a student with potential, I wanted to make sure they had all available resources. I am good at looking at the overall picture but you are a master of your niche. And I also don't want him up there alone - he seems to have a gift for finding trouble."

Aizawa was able to suppress the snicker at that comment but the smirk slipped through. "He certainly does. And, I guess the arrangement works well for me." He admitted grudgingly, "I wanted to inform you that I've decided to step in as a Quirk counselor and that will give Izuku an additional opportunity to talk about issues he might be having with it in private. I plan to reach out to his mother and set up an appointment to discuss this, as well as tell her about her son's Quirk."

"An excellent idea. If you hadn't volunteered, I would've requested for you to act as his counselor, now that you know about him. And I would like to be present for the interview, to help show that we're taking this, seriously. I assume that you've already requested All Might's presence, as well?"

Shota nodded.

"Would you also mind sending Midoriya to me after school? I'll be happy to help him make arrangements for his notes."

"He and Bakugou are restricted to the dorms for the next three days as part of their punishment for fighting."

"Ah, well, you mentioned a hole in a wall between dorms, right? Perhaps I'll go over and talk to the kids while, Ishiyama and the robots work on the repairs…"

No, Shota did not like the thought of Nezu getting to spend an indiscriminate amount of time with Midoriya while the boy had nowhere to flee. Especially not in their first encounter. "Once I'm done with my day, I can bring him up. Does four-o-clock work for you?"

Nezu gave a nod. "I'm sure it won't surprise you to hear that I'll also be setting up sessions with him." His whiskers twitched in excitement as he stated, "Will the after school block work for the sessions? I'm assuming you've already decided to use his study hour, seeing as you currently have training with young Shinsou booked for after classes let out."

Aizawa nodded, "Monday, Wednesday and Friday, I plan to have Midoriya training with me. Tuesdays, for visits with Hound dog. I'll be setting up my own set of classes with him. I also refuse to release him to a work study until I'm confident in his ability to —"

"No need for that… Midoriya needs a certain amount of hero hours in order to keep his license, but it doesn't have to be for field work."

"And who's going to take a UA student for anything but that?"

Nezu smiled and said, "You know that I have more responsibilities than as a school principal."

Aizawa felt his heart skip a beat. Nezu had his paws deep in a great many pies. There's a reason he was chosen to organize the raid on Kamino Ward. "Seriously?"

"If I'm going to have him helping other heroes, he should be properly compensated for it. Plus, I've found that in many cases, nothing teaches better than experience. That's why we have these internships in the first place. If we're going to focus on Midoriya's intelligence -which clearly, we both think is a good idea - we have a lot of ground to cover." He frowned, "Now, I regret waiting this long to reach out. To think, I could've had almost another year and a half to work with him… Oh well, nothing to be done, now."

"I also don't want you bringing up your work study offer, until after his house arrest is over. No one's allowed to discuss anything hero class related with him while he's being punished."

"Why do I have to get punished, too?" Nezu asked, only half-jokingly. He clearly wanted to get started with young Midoriya, as soon as possible.

"Because, this might've been avoided if you had taken time to meet my student's needs before now. Besides that, I want to bring up the work study programs with Midoriya and allow him to join in the class discussion with the Big Three, beforehand."

Nezu sighed before relenting, "fine. I'll wait. But after that, I want to talk to him." He followed up by asking, "is there anything else that you would like at this time?"

"Yes, actually. I want to get an idea of what we need to prepare Midoriya for, and I have something in mind, but I'd need your help."

"I'm listening. What do you have in mind?"

* * *

 **I'm sorry but this last thing is going to remain secret for a while, although I'll drop hints back to it later. I'm excited about it though.**

 **You wouldn't believe how long these chapters took to get right. I've been working on this conversation in the background while trying to get the talk between Izuku and Aizawa and the confrontation with Aizawa and All Might taken care of. I'm so glad to finally have it done and am ready to move on to the next stage.**


	20. Adjusting for Changes

**Adjusting for Changes**

As Shota left Nezu's office, he reflected on their conversation. In some ways, it had gone better than he'd expected. In others... Well, he probably couldn't call inspiring the genius's interest in Midoriya a bad thing, but the thought was still terrifying.

Of course, that was the point. To make Midoriya into a force so terrifying, that even a two-centuries-old crime lord would think twice before messing with him. And, damn it, the scariest part was that Aizawa thought that they might just be able to pull it off.

Speaking of which, when Shota had told Nezu his final idea, the other had said it had potential. Still, he needed to come up with a convincing cover to the true purpose for his request, if they were going to be able to go through with it.

So, Shota would have to do some thinking on that.

Of course, that was on top of the million-and-one other things to do. He stopped himself from listing a likely endless stream of tasks that awaited him. It wasn't like he had time for any of it right now, anyway.

Otherwise, he would be the one late to class. And he'd have to count on the students to get to today's assembly of their own accord.

With his luck, rather than everyone making it there on time and in one piece, someone would probably find trouble. Although, his two biggest sources of it were currently under house arrest. So, he probably had a few days' reprieve in that regard.

And yet, they still managed to leave a mess for him to deal with in the interim.

What a pain…

When he arrived at the classroom, he took a moment to readjust the capture weapon around his neck, making sure it could easily be loosened at a moment's notice. It wasn't that he expected anything to happen, but with his students' propensity to find trouble, it paid to be prepared at a moment's notice.

Despite the door already being open, leaving one less way to draw attention to his otherwise silent arrival, within three seconds of slipping into the room, his students fell silent. Ah, progress.

Once the students had taken their seats, Shota stated, "Today's morning schedule is going to be different, due to an assembly that will be taking place in a few minutes. But, before we go, there are some other changes I need to discuss with you. First off, I've made a slight adjustment to your seating arrangements. Kirishima, from now on, you will sit directly behind Bakugou and when Midoriya returns to class, he will be seated where you are now."

Usually, Shota didn't move students around, but with new facts brought to light, he felt that this was absolutely necessary.

It didn't do either Midoriya or Bakugou any favors to be positioned as they were. It couldn't be a positive influence on Midoriya's confidence to stare at the back of his childhood bully's head, all day long. And it certainly couldn't help Bakugou's development to have the constant reminder of the issues he was trying to work through sitting right behind him on a daily basis, either. Midoriya tended to get along with any of his other classmates perfectly fine, and Bakugou was more receptive to Kirishima than any other student in the room. It was probably the easiest change to make in order to start dealing with their problems.

Still, the move seemed to set off alarm bells for the other students. After Shota finished, he was certain that he could cut the tension in the room with a knife. In the beginning of the year, when students had tried requesting seating rearrangements, he made it abundantly clear that he won't allow people to move from their assigned spots.

"That's six seconds, Kirishima. You need to work on your reaction time."

"Yes, Aizawa-sensei." With that, Kirishima leapt into action. The boy quickly gathered his materials and moved into what, until that moment, had been Midoriya's seat.

With that taken care of, Shota continued, "I'm also going to require that each of you visit Hound Dog at least once, for a Post Villain Attack Psychological Assessment. This isn't an optional appointment. Once I verify the available time slots with Hound Dog, you'll be given an opportunity to select one for yourselves. If you don't pick one, I'll choose for you." He glared coldly at the students as he added, "And you wouldn't want that, I promise you."

A low murmur began throughout the room, but one glance around the room from Shota and they immediately fell silent.

Shota could still see the worry in the students' eyes, even as he moved on and informed them about the plans for this afternoon's training session and how, later in the week, they were going to have guests and he expected the students to be respectful and attentive.

By the time he was done, it was time for the assembly.

* * *

After the assembly concluded and the class got back to their room, Kirishima turned and took a few steps toward the seat that he'd occupied since the beginning of the school year before stopping, recalling that it wasn't his anymore.

Kirishima backtracked to the front of the room and went over to the last row, to the spot everyone had come to think of as Midoriya's.

He quietly sat in the seat.

"What do you think they were fighting over, last night?"

Kirishima glanced over his shoulder at Mineta. They didn't interact much, but it was obvious that right now, the smaller boy was as disturbed by this as he was. Heck, he was sure everyone was concerned by it.

"How should I know?" Clearly, something had happened, if Mr. Aizawa was outright separating them.

"You and Bakugou basically shared a room last night."

Kirishima felt his smile falter slightly at the reference to the hole he made in the wall. He guessed if Mineta knew about it, everyone probably did. "Yeah, but we didn't talk or do anything." In fact, it was the first time that he hadn't stirred to the sound of Bakugou pacing and intermittently crackling his hands at some point in the night, since they moved into the dorms. Which had seemed like a good sign at the time.

But the way Aizawa was acting, you'd think something horrible had happened between Midoriya and Bakugou.

It didn't help his nerves when Present Mic showed up for English and briefly paused when he spotted both Kirishima's new seating arrangement, as well as the empty desk in front of him. Their english teacher cast a quick glance at Mr. Aizawa's receding form before diving right into the lesson, as if he could cover up the reaction, but it was already too late. He was sure that most—if not all—of the class had noticed his uncharacteristically silent moment.

* * *

When Shota left the classroom, he was tempted to go straight to Hound Dog's office about his public rant about Aizawa's students, without first consulting him. But, all things considered, with the parade of students that would be going through his office led by the very two he had a fit over, Shota felt that Karma had already been set up for him. Shota would grant him the small mercy of not charging into his office, on top of that.

Instead, he made his way to Recovery Girl's office and knocked on the door.

"Come in," she called out. "Unless it's an emergency, I'll be with you in a minute."

When Aizawa stepped in, he saw Shuzenji was giving one of the students from his expelled and reaccepted class from last year, a girl with a Mutational Quirk that gave her dog-like features, a set of gummy bears. "Now remember, dear, you need to be more careful, especially during the work study program."

The girl bit her lip nervously, but nodded and said, "Yes, ma'am."

"You can go back to class, you slept right through the assembly."

"Thank you," she said.

As the student passed Shota, he tried to ignore how her gaze momentarily settled on the scar below his eye before she flashed him a nervous smile. "Good morning Mr. Aizawa."

In response, he gave a small nod of acknowledgement and a quiet, "good morning."

With that, she quickly left the room.

Shota suddenly found himself wondering how the students he had last year were doing. They'd just finished their first round of work studies that Summer. Had just encountered and taken down their first villains.

Luckily, no seats had been vacated, but he wouldn't be surprised if some of the students had cases where more senior team members of the agencies that they worked under had gone on patrol and never came back. It had been a harsh summer, especially after All Might announced his retirement.

How were they faring with the changing environment that he was about to throw his first years into?

He forced his mind away. No point in worrying. He'd made sure that the students who made it to their second year had what it took. That was all he'd needed to concern himself with. Before this year, it was all he'd focused on: ready to focus on shattering the society-fed delusions in the next batch of starry-eyed new students, as soon as he was done with the previous set. It wasn't logical to waste time or energy to think about them, anymore. He'd prepped them and he was done.

It wasn't nearly as easy to listen to that argument now as it used to be.

Shota forced himself to focus on the task at hand.

He recalled a long-ago summer that had ended in a painfully empty seat.

"Shota, what brings you here? You rarely come to my office. In fact, I don't think I've seen you since I recommended you wait another two healing sessions, before going back to teaching after the USJ attack." There was a touch of disapproval in the last part of her statement.

"There was no way I was going to waste a week and a half on the healing and resting cycle, when I was already well enough to handle my student, then. I did wait for returning to heroics, though."

"Was that by your choice, or because Yamada made sure of it?"

Shota huffed in annoyance. "What gave it away?"

"He dragged you into the announcer's booth for the 1st year-round of the U.A. Tournament. Usually, you get in a patrol then, and it's your most active one of the year."

"Well, what do you expect? All the big heroes are watching children with little to no training beat each other to a pulp. Heck, All Might even showed up to the thing, even when he wasn't working here. The smarter villains aren't going to ignore that opportunity." As a result, he didn't just bag a large number of criminals in that time. They were usually higher-level ones than average.

Unfortunately, it barely made a dent in the crime rates at that time. He wouldn't be surprised if the reason Ingenium, who was used to functioning as part of a team, had been working alone when Stain found him, was because that very spike in Villain activity had spread his agency too thin to function normally.

Rather than press the subject, Shuzenji asked, "So, what brings you here today?"

"There are a couple of things I want to discuss with you."

"And what might those be?"

"The first is that, I want you to know that I am aware of Midoriya's Quirk. I've already talked to All Might and Nezu."

The tiny woman gave a small nod. "Thank you for letting me know. I will keep that in mind, when dealing with Midoriya in the future."

"You should also be expecting some paperwork in the next regarding his receipt of a Quirk counselor, as I plan to fill out that form, as soon as possible."

"You're going to counsel Midoriya about his Quirk?" she asked, sounding surprised. "You certainly have taken an extra interest in your kids this year, haven't you?"

He rubbed the back of his neck tiredly. "I know. The other reason I'm here is actually because of that. I need to be informed of when my students arrive at and depart from your office."

Shuzenji sighed and asked, "Are you worried some of your students are dawdling in the halls, after they leave my office?"

"Not as much as I am aware that some of my students are self-treating."

Recovery Girl paused. "'Self-treating'?"

"After the fight Midoriya and Bakugou had, I forbade them from approaching you, unless necessary. Midoriya used a well-stocked medical kit, with more alternative materials than medical grade supplies." He grit his teeth before stating, "Honestly, the only reason that I haven't sent him up for a check up is because he's not showing any signs of pain. So, I'm assuming he knew when to come up here."

Shuzenji nodded and said, "He came up twice during the training period for the licensing exam, so I'd say so. But I—"

"That's it?" Aizawa asked. "I sent him to you twice as many times."

"I thought his healing on the last day of training seemed to take up more energy than expected." She sighed and declared, "I'll make sure to keep you informed of arrivals and departures."

"Thank you." Shota had a feeling that he was going to need to pay close attention to it, in order to make sure Midoriya didn't do something like that in the future. Hopefully, there weren't any other students trying to pull stunts like that, either.

He didn't care if his kids had supplies. They had Shuzenji here for a reason.

* * *

 **I really want to get through this and the next few chapters because I'm reaching a point I've been wanting to get to for some time.**

 **So, at the end of the first night, I said that I had originally planned to wait a few more chapters before starting to work on the problem that is Midoriya and Bakugous' relationship. The point here where Aizawa swaps Midoriya and Kirishimas' seats was going to be that starting moment. So, that's the actual first step I wrote for dealing with them, even if it is not the first to appear in the final story.**

 **Although I hate Mineta for being a pervert, I have to grudgingly admit that he has displayed the possibility for being a hero (by this world's standards, which doesn't seem to take personality into consideration). He's one of the best strategists in class 1-A and does show that he can care about others like a human being. That being said, I hate him as is. If he gets an improvement/redemption arc, which I wouldn't put past Horikoshi, I think I could one day change my opinion about him (it's an extremely long shot but he's shown he can do them with characters like Endeavor). As it stands now though, I probably won't be doing much in relation to him beyond acknowledging his existence.**

 **Recovery Girl's time will come. It's just not today. Honestly, she wasn't even going to make an appearance this chapter but it was too short for my liking and Aizawa was going to talk to her about this sooner or later. So, I decided, why not now?**

 **Also, if it seems weird that Aizawa would refer to a coworker by their family name when he refers to others by first name, she was probably established as UA's nurse when he was a student and I would like to think that it would be difficult to move beyond that mindset completely and even using her name instead of her hero title would be a big jump.**

 **As for Nezu, I don't know if he would have been on the staff when Aizawa was a student but I have a head canon that Nezu is his only name, another thing reflecting the differences between him and most people.**

 **So, I was just doing a random check through to add some depth to the chapter and the question popped into my head: If all those heroes are at the tournament, what's going on where they'd usually be on patrol? I pictured that, knowing where all these heroes including All Might were, the Tournament would be a prime opportunity for Villains to come out without worrying about them (even more so if the hero makes it into any footage of the crowd). Goodness knows that it would cause serious issues for heroes who are still o patrol at the time, overwhelmed by villains taking advantage of their reduced numbers.**


	21. Growing Concerns

**After a Comment from** **PsionicCausality** **on AO3, I want to bring up that although I try to be accurate in my writing, I am writing with western views. This is important to this chapter and the next specifincally because there is such a major difference in views for both teaching and Mental Illness.**

 **I was not aware of the view for teachers at all and the distance they usually hold from their students.**

 **As for the mental health issues, I was aware of a stigma but had a head canon that I am going to share now, rather than later: With the dawn of quirks, people developed a wide range of behavioral issues due to the way the quirks rewire them, often leading to unignorable issues. Then, when the heroics profession came about, heroes probably had to deal with horrific stuff on the job that would have deep psychological impacts. So, while the view on mental illness may not be the same as in western culture, it was forced to be acknowledged on a larger scale than in prequirk Japan. There is still a stigma but it is not as great.**

 **Growing Concerns**

Having finished his discussion with Shuzenji, Shota went to the set of computers provided for the teaching staff. He had a lot of work that extended far beyond his usual heroics lessons. When Hound Dog reached out to him, he wanted to have his proposal ready for the best times to set his students assessments up for in relation to class time. Then, there was setting up Midoriya's new schedule and working through the paperwork for becoming his Quirk Counselor.

And at some point, he definitely wanted to get those mock forms ready to go. Although he wasn't looking forward to the work involved with setting them up, he could honestly admit that he was almost excited for the results. He could say goodbye to a large portion of his usual punishments, instead of giving his students a learning experience that would probably encourage them to behave far more than any regular detention ever could, with the added benefit of extra encouragement for them to be careful once they entered the field. No one went into heroics for the paperwork related to incident reports, damages, legal issues and the myriad of other problems that they had to deal with. But it was a necessary skill, especially for the members of the class who had destructive Quirks.

Shota sighed and got started on the tasks at hand. As he did so, he found his mind wandering to a topic he'd banished, earlier. On how his relationship with his current students varied so greatly from previous years.

He understood what the difference was, of course. It was actually two-fold, playing into both his roles as a teacher and as a hero.

His previous classes had just been some kids he was shaping up for the heroics field. Nothing more, nothing less. He pushed them hard and gave no quarter to those who couldn't keep up his pace. He usually offered one fake expulsion to each student with an iota of potential so that they might experience a 'death', but then started handing out real ones after. If anyone did the math, they'd realize that he hadn't been here for the eight years it would take to teach over 150 students, let alone expel that many. A lot of those numbers were only there because of the first expulsion he gave to every student, plus the second that the true failures received afterward. Although, never more than two.

He didn't truly throw students out of the course unless he was sure they lacked the potential to make it in the hero world.

Otherwise, he didn't really interact with them much at all. Some of the students from his earlier years had already had their careers and in one case, their life, cut short from injuries sustained in the field. And that was in 'peaceful' times.

Despite the distance he'd kept from them, the news was still hard to hear. He always wondered if there was something he could've done. Some lessons he could've gotten across better, that would've saved the young men and women.

Shota had refused to let himself become more attached. This position required him to choose between each student's education as a hero and their safety as a teenager. He'd soon find himself fired if he expelled them all and told them to look for a safer career because he didn't want to see them get hurt. So, he held them all at as far a distance as he could, while ensuring himself that they'd learned as much as possible to help them stay alive on the job.

Meanwhile, he continued with his heroics as usual, able to keep his work in the field completely separate from his teaching duties at U.A. He would take down a different set of villains and save different civilians each time, none of which he would likely see again after he resolved the situation.

Occasionally, he'd work with other heroes, the police or even some local vigilantes. And depending on each other for survival, often multiple times over, was one of the few ways he'd found he could build trust with others anymore.

This year had started off like any other. He had figured his largest challenge would be dealing with a few teens from exceptionally high-profile families. Other than that, ihe'd expected it to be pretty standard. A bunch of overconfident kids. A few bad attitudes.

Even Midoriya's expectation defying stunt on day one had marked him as possibly being one of "those ones;" the kids each teacher would get at least once or twice in their career that defied expectation and explanation, Ending up being their personal references for what 'plus ultra' represented among their students. Rare, yes, but certainly not one of a kind.

But there was nothing about the students that had seemed outright life changing to Shota.

Then the USJ happened.

Shota's stance as a teacher shaping up the new recruits and his position the hero working to protect civilians from dangerous villains, which he had worked so hard to keep on separate tracks, had collided spectacularly the moment that the warper had manifested within the building.

Then, he had to protect his students. Not only that but he was also probably still alive only because of some of these kids, who were barely trained at all at the time. They'd all depended on each other in order to survive the first coordinated large scale villain attack since the early days of All Might's tenure as the number one hero.

Of course, then there was the fact that, unlike regular civilians, who he almost never saw again after saving them or even the people he occasionally worked with in the field, he had to deal with this group almost every day after the fact.

That had been an interesting realization to come to when Shota dragged himself into the classroom, covered in bandages. He'd been so relieved to be out from under Hizashi's concerned watch, until he'd realized he had traded out for a room full of worried gazes. That's when it all sank in. After everything that had just happened at the USJ, he was going to be seeing these kids several hours a week for a year and continue to see them around the school for the following two.

Shota told himself it wouldn't change anything. He tried to convince himself that he could still maintain that same emotional distance that he had for his previous classes.

...Yeah. Right.

Looking back, if Shota were to pinpoint where the cracks to that plan first started to show, he would say it was during the tournament match between Bakugou and Uraraka. Usually, he would've just held his tongue, knowing that handling public backlash was part of being a hero and letting the students learn to deal with it. Instead, he'd been too pissed off to stay quiet.

These kids had just fought for their lives not even a month prior and now Bakugou had to deal with the public's scorn for going all out in a competition, while Uraraka was being stereotyped as a poor, helpless, defenseless little damsel?

Still, at the time, he was able to chalk that up to not wanting to deal with people's idiotically illogical, sexist views.

Then there was Stain's arrest. Was he ignoring the reports of evidence of Quirk damage and ice chunks that would match offensive damage from his 'cornered students' Quirks in the alleyway, where 'Endeavor defeated Stain' while his students supposedly just watched? Well, he wasn't officially told anything. And what of the footage of Stain's rant, as he stood on that Nomu with a familiar green-haired figure clearly making it into the recording that was clearly not taken in said alley? Well, it was taken down so quickly, he couldn't look over it again to verify what he saw and he didn't feel like racing censors to find the clip again. The whole thing was just a ridiculous amount of work to go through.

Besides, Shota had been far too busy looking over the Public Safety Commission's site to double-check the lower age limit for provisional licenses as well as finding the next testing dates. He had already been considering enrolling Class 1-A into the Licensing Exam, anyway. He figured he might as well get a head start.

If Shota wanted to get some sleep, he certainly couldn't be chasing said footage. Especially when he still had to plan the next day's activities for the new gen ed student he was focusing on while his class was away at their internships, as well. This first week, testing limits and setting up a training routine to suit them, was critical to Shinsou's chances of success.

Shota couldn't deny it anymore after he allowed Yaoyorozu's plan to work during the practical, though. That was definitely to help her recover her confidence. And, judging from her reaction, he might have been a touch too obvious about it.

And from there, it had spiraled. Midoriya had already participated in the optional summer training activity and was already off to I-Island when Naosama finally leaked out a particularly important piece of information about a villain encounter resulting in the evacuation of a newly opened Wookies Mall a few days prior. That being how it had been Tomura Shigaraki grabbing Midoriya by the neck to 'chat' with him. Which, honestly, he should've heard about from Shuzenji, since she was called in to heal the marks left by the strangulation Uraraka had interrupted.

He wished he had thought of talking about better communication with the woman earlier. He supposed he'd just have to bring it up the next time he saw her.

Then, before Shota could even do anything with the information about Midoriya's latest traumatic experience, I-Island went silent for the first time ever… With half his students present. He hadn't been able to get his answers yet, but Midoriya would probably help fill in the gaps soon enough with his reports.

At the very least, he figured that with all the precautions they'd taken, the summer training session with the Pussy Cats would be villain free.

But, no! Instead, they had U.A. Life or Death Experience Number Two: Full First-Year Hero Course Edition. Complete with several wounded students and one actually getting abducted and the opening to the Kamino Ward incident.

Oh, Kamino Ward.

In previous years, he wouldn't have hesitated with the mass expulsion. And, considering how quickly the commission tried to cover up the fact that it wasn't trained heroes but a bunch of kids who rescued Bakugou, they might've gotten away with it, with Shota being none the wiser… If Endeavor hadn't called Nezu to ask, if this was a school for heroes and not vigilantes, why was he melting a very recognizable ice ramp?

Shota hadn't wanted to question the students, to make someone give up their secret and put a black mark on the trust between them that had helped save their lives but knew he would if he had to. Luckily, some security footage from the hospital had found its way to his desk. None of his coworkers admitted to being the one to retrieve it without a permit and he didn't ask. He was thankful, though.

Looking over footage, it was obvious when the meeting to discuss this had happened and all who were present. And then the footage of the smaller group meeting up in front of the building the night of the raid, showed him who went.

And yet, would Bakugou have been saved if they hadn't acted? Would All Might have won the fight with a hostage on site?

There was no evidence that the students had actually engaged the villains.

In the past, Shota would've never made such excuses, but there he was.

And now… Now, he was demanding his students get therapy with Hound Dog and requesting updates from Recovery Girl, like he was a concerned parent rather than a teacher. He was even stepping in as a Quirk counselor for one of them?!

Shota couldn't even hold his usual distance with students who had nothing to do with the 1-A, anymore. His relationship with Hitoshi Shinsou was proof of that. What was he supposed to do, after this year? Because he knew that he'd never be able to go back to how he was, beforehand.

At one point, Shota glanced up at the clock and realized that it was almost lunch time. He felt like he'd barely made a dent in his workload, but he wasn't going to miss this opportunity to take a nap. His eyes were burning, and he knew it wasn't just the usual side effect of his Quirk. So, he began to wrap up his work for the morning, knowing he could continue on his laptop when he got back to the dorm that evening, after his after-school session with Shinsou and going back to Nezu's office to introduce Midoriya to the Mouse-Bear-Dog—who knew what else—Chimera.

Ugh, just thinking about it made Shota more tired. Well, it could all wait. For now, he was going to suck down a few nutrient pouches and crash under his desk.

And that was exactly what he proceeded to do. Although, he could never slip into a deep sleep at the school. He was able to doze, stirring at each noise just enough to confirm there was no need to react, before slipping back into his sleep.

Then, he heard a certain set of footsteps.

Something interesting that many people might not notice, is that each person moves slightly differently. Their gait. The weight in their steps. How they walk or run.

Aizawa had learned to recognize the sound of a few people, just by ear. Therefore, he recognized the footsteps, even before they entered the classroom and approached his desk.

Shota sighed, before sitting up and pushing the chair from his desk for his oldest friend to sit in. "What is it, Hizashi?"

* * *

 **So, I had been struggling to find scenes for these chapters that could make time flow smoothly but would be more than just filler scenes. Several people have pointed out that I haven't really focused on many of Aizawa's flaws all that much the way I have on other characters so far in this story…the conversations of the previous night didn't give me a chance but I have honestly been thinking long and hard on some of them. I had to put aside some rose tinted glasses.**

 **It was from these thoughts that I came to a decisions for how to treat these chapters. Here, he is focused on why things are different with this year's students and in that focus highlights but fails to really see his fault as a teacher who cares only about the students' performance, also highlighting why he is not exactly 'on the ball' with this year's students as well, despite caring more deeply than ever before. He's not really used to looking for their problems after spending years trying to avoid any deep connections to his students.**

 **And let me stress this: reasons are not excuses. The fact that he missed the signs because he is just breaking from his usual behavior of purposeful negligence and isn't used to looking for them is not an excuse. It's actually pretty terrifying to think that he's been neglecting the psychological wellbeing of his students for his own health. It also brings up the fact that these are kids who are being trained to/placed out in the field to place themselves in direct danger at the ages of 15 and 16.**

 **So, yeah. During the Kamino incident, Shoto made a big ol ice ramp and it didn't look like he stuck around to melt it after Izuku, Iida and Kirishima launched off it. I would like to think that Endeavor would be able to recognize his son's handywork. And lets face it, if he didn't confront his kid about taking on Stain, he's most certainly not going to bring up being bested a second time so shortly after, since he was part of the team meant to rescue Bakugou. On the other hand, this is two vigilante incidents that Endeavour knows about (possibly three, depending on if he has any connections on I-Island) since entering UA. He also wouldn't think that expulsion was a possibility because Shoto Todoroki is the extremely powerful son of the number 2…oh wait…number 1 hero.**

 **Warning: hinted manga spoilers in the paragraph below. Proceed at your own risk.**

 **By sheer number of kids Aizawa has expelled (with 18-20 kids a year, I don't know how he could even be in charge of over a hundred and fifty kids, let alone expel that many between the time he joins UA in the Vigilantes Manga to the beginning of the series). Also, since he is not in charge of his previous year's students even though they are in their second year, I hate to say it but, if there is a second year at UA, I don't think he will be the home room teacher for our current 1-A Students under normal circumstances (Manga readers understand why I say if; for future context, when I post this, the Manga is at chapter 275 as I post this and I am nervous for what the next few chapters might bring).**


	22. A Lunchtime Conversation

**Lunch Conversation**

Hizashi knew where Shota would be the moment, he'd seen that his friend hadn't taken the couch in the break room for lunch. It meant that he'd prioritized time to himself over the minutes it would take to have a cup of coffee at the end of the lunch period.

That being said, Hizashi still made a cup for Shota, knowing that whatever was bothering him, he'd be more receptive to the idea of talking about it if Hizashi brought an offering. That didn't mean he'd actually say anything, just that he'd be more likely to.

And Hizashi was worried.

Hizashi's warning bells started going off the moment he caught his first glimpse of Shota at the assembly. He was clearly exhausted, even by his own standards. Some of his student's kept shooting the man worried looks, too.

When Hound Dog started barking and growling about a fight last night, Shota didn't look just look annoyed, but frustrated. It must have been a couple of his kids. Hizashi glanced back at his group and noted that his pal's two biggest 'problem children' were absent.

Hizashi exchanged a glance with Nemuri to see that she had noticed his behavior, too.

Still, it might have just been their friend's protectiveness over his students. Ever since the USJ incident and with every one that followed, Shota had become ever more attentive toward them, even if he tried to pretend otherwise.

It was upon walking into the 1-A classroom a few minutes later that Hizashi had been absolutely sure. Shota had changed the students' seating arrangements. Shota never made changes like that. Ever

Shota liked to do things as simply as possible and didn't 'waste energy' on things he deemed unnecessary. He classified changing seating arrangements as just such an inconvenience. He'd never done it once in the whole of his time at UA.

As Hizashi made his way to the classroom with the cup of joe in hand, where he knew Shota would be curled up under his desk in his yellow sleeping bag.

When he entered the room, a sigh was issued from beneath the desk before a familiar voice asked, "What is it, Hizashi?"

"Somethings up with my best bud and I wanted to check in on him," He announced in a tone he usually used when talking as Present Mic before taking up a calmer, more quiet voice, "Really, though? Are you doing okay?"

Shota sighed. "That obvious, huh." There was a short pause before he asked, "is that coffee I smell?"

"You bet!"

There was another sigh before the chair, already partially displaced from beneath the desk, was shoved further out. It was a clear invitation to take a seat and a warning not to expect Shota to come out from the cave that was the space the object usually occupied. So, he was in one of those moods, huh?

"Must be big." Hizashi commented as he came around, spun the chair and sat so he was he could cross his arms on the back of it and lean over to look at Shota as he extended a hand, into which Hizashi placed the cup of coffee.

In a matter of seconds, Shota managed to position the cup so that he could slip in a straw he'd probably taken off one of his nutrient pouches and retracted himself back into his sleeping bag and position himself so he could easily move his head to reach the straw as desired.

For a moment, Hizashi and Shota just enjoyed each other's company. They didn't get much time to themselves these days. This year had been especially bad in that regard.

Then the moment passed as Shota declared, "I can't say much." Then he took a sip from his straw.

Hizashi sighed. Most people might just hear a denial to share information but he knew better. If he didn't want to talk about it, he would have said that he "wouldn't" talk about it. To say he "couldn't" meant that there was more to it than personal reasons. The only other people who would have understood the statement for what it was were Nemuri and possibly Nezu, although the latter would probably try to find out anyway if he didn't already know what the problem was.

At first, it had frustrated Hizashi when he heard those words in relation to Shota's underground work, even as he understood the other's need for secrecy. It hurt that there was a part of Shota's life that he could never be part of, in order to protect himself, Shota and whomever he was in contact with on the job.

Then, as a teacher, Hizashi found that there were also moments where he had to tell Shota the same words, in order to respect the privacy of his students when they came to him for help over sensitive matters.

It made Yamada realize how hard it must be for Shota to have to say that for almost everything he did on the job.

"Okay, I'm here for what you can talk about."

"I can say that last night, I was made aware of Midoriya and Bakugou history. They should never have been placed together and I plan on minimizing their contact for the time being and prefer that they be heavily supervised when they do. All Might also needs similar supervision for anything he does in relation to any students."

"Wow. Your biggest troublemakers and All Might all in one night? No wonder you're bundled up under here."

"You have no idea," Shota replied. "But if you could keep it in mind…"

Yamada nodded, "I'll keep that in mind for group assignments in my classes. I'll even pass the word on to the others. Anything else?"

"Not unless it leaks out. Otherwise I'd have a full-blown rant right now."

Despite trying to hide his nerves by taking another sip of coffee, Hizashi could tell from Shota's tone that he was either angry or scared by whatever it was he couldn't say.

"I'll always be happy to be your listener if you need me to be."

"I know," Shota responded warmly. "Thanks."

Deciding to change the subject, Hizashi asked, "So, how's young Shinsou's training coming?"

"He's getting a handle on my capture weapon faster than I did."

"To be fair, you had to teach yourself. He has a great mentor to guide him."

Shota rolled his eyes before he declared, "It would be illogical to have him waste time struggling on his own. He needs whatever edge he can get, especially with all of his potential classmates getting pushed harder than any group before them. If he's to catch up by next year, he'll have to climb higher and faster than I did."

Hizashi sighed and acknowledged, "this year has been an absolute mess."

Shota said, "and another thing, based on what I can't talk about, it's only just started. Things are probably going to get worse with the villain attacks."

Hizashi grit his teeth at the thought, and stated, "that's just nerves talking. You can't know that." Hizashi was aware how much he cared for this group of kids. Heck, he'd been there when Shota had finished watching the footage of Stain ranting while at arms-length from Izuku Midoriya and calmly announced that he was going to investigate the possibility of entering his students into the licensing exam at the end of the summer.

"I can and I do," Shota said, still tired. "It will and my class will be at the center of it for their entire time at UA."

"You sound like you're the one with tat power Sir Nighteye is rumored to have."

"Trust me," he declared, voice tense. "I don't need a foresight quirk to be sure of this." There was a tremble in his voice as he added, "the dorms won't be enough to keep the villains away forever. The murder and kidnapping attempts won't stop and Midoriya will increasingly become a primary target."

Fear. It was fear.

"We'll keep them safe."

"You can't know that," Shota retorted.

"Shota…"

"I worked so hard to keep my hero work and my teacher career separated, you know. But how can I do that when every day, I'm instructing children who either put their lives in my hands or held mind in theirs?" Shota asked. "I've fought side by side with my students twice now, Yamada. Some of them are fighting villains without me more often than they have had me to rely on! And the last time, so many of them got hurt and one got kidnapped. At least on the job, I apprehended the villains, did what I could for the civilians and then moved on. I have to walk into class and see these kids every day. Now, I'm not sure I can live without that happening. We weren't trained for this, Yamada. And I can't keep my emotions separate from this anymore."

"Then maybe one good thing did come out of all of this."

Shota looked at him, confused.

Hizashi took a deep breath before continuing. "You've always kind of kept you yourself, Shota but after, Shirakumo died, you closed yourself off to almost everyone. Over the years, you healed some and made a few friends, but it was more like it happened despite how you fought it. As a teacher, you've been focused on making the kids prepared to survive and be ready for the worst but nothing else. These last few months, I've watched you open up more than in all the years since then. Like you've finally decided to let it happen. You're more like the guy who snatched up a kitten from Shirakumo to make sure it was taken care of right than you've been since the last time we were all on the roof, together." He smiled and added, "Nemuri and I are happy for you and you know what? Shirakumo would be, too. We've missed that secretly huge softy and it's good to see him come back."

Shota stared up at the underside of his desk. "Softy?" he growled.

Hizashi shrugged, huge smile on his face. "You heard me."

"I'm not soft." Shota deadpanned.

"Sure, fine. You're totally not soft as your sleeping bag." With a smile on his face Hizashi clapped his hands together, determined to keep the mood light as he asked, "now, why don't you give me the highlights for the Licensing Exam. I want all the juicy details of how our students did against the other schools."

Shota seemed momentarily startled and seemed to be debating on continuing the argument on how caring a person he was but chose to oblige Hizashi's current request, slipping back into his usual calm, serious tone as he described the events of the previous day. Of course he had; he'd probably already logically deduced that he'd lose thar fight.

Where Hizashi would have added flourish and built up the big moments, Shota spoke of the students' performance through a critical lens far more fitting for a police report than for entertainment purposes. Yamada still enjoyed hearing the man talk about what happened and occasionally ribbing him about Ms. Joke, who had, as always, hung out with him during the exam. By the time the lunch period ended, Shota had collected himself and was ready to face his students as if he hadn't just had an emotional break down.

Hizashi slipped out as the students started filing in. His English papers wouldn't grade themselves.

* * *

 **This conversation was originally written from Aizawa's perspective, about a third the length of this and tacked onto the end of the previous chapter. Then I looked at things from Present Mic's perspective and found I liked the result better. I honestly had no idea where I was going with it until I had Aizawa admitting to how scared he was of the changes that had happened in his life but it seemed like a good way to wrap up these last few chapters that have been so focused on Aizawa's relationship with this year's students vs how he has been in the past. What's really funny is that this whole mini arc came up because I wanted a smooth transition for the first part of the day.**

 **I was worried that I wouldn't be able to pull it off. Then I started writing.**

 **Next Chapter, we're back with Bakugou and Midoriya. Yay! We'll be moving away from Aizawa's perspective for a while.**


End file.
